Our last few weeks have been ones of weeping with those who weep as we’ve watched dear friends mourn the loss of a beloved son. Yet, they have also been days of seeing glimpses of pure glory shining into the dark. It isn’t the first time God has displayed His light inside a penetrating darkness of grief, making Himself known and lighting a path forward.
These past days declared again that, there is no circumstance in which we cannot worship.
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21 NKJV)
Job, after losing all he owned, as well as experiencing the deaths of his ten children, reacted in a way that leaves us almost speechless. He bowed to worship and proclaim the Lord as blessed.
Many of you were awed to see the “once in a lifetime” total solar eclipse. We were in an airport this time and didn’t get a good view as we did last time, but we saw enough of the darkened sky out the big windows, and through a pinpoint of light on paper, to marvel at our mighty God.
His glory shines. Yet, His presence remains in the blackest of dark. Unchanging. Good. Faithful. Righteous. Even the most difficult situations cannot alter His character.
As we made our way across the country to mourn, we also travelled to worship. For Jesus doesn’t leave us in our tragedy, He walks in the valley together with us. He invites us to peer through the shadows and recognize His triumph. And that is the victory of grace and mercy. Of One Who gave His life for many.
Sometimes the deepest tragedies remind us of the greatest victories.
In the dark circumstances of tragedy, I witnessed much more than family and friends in the grips of sorrow. I saw the Lord shine magnificently down on His people in worship. Together we shared the glory of a God who can take heartache and use it to defeat blackness.
United, without if’s, and’s, or buts, we exalted God higher. He is Who He is, and He is worthy. Always.King David wrote, “Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5 NASB)
And how we look forward to that glorious shout!
In the final book of the Bible, John writes,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)
I don’t know what tears you may weep today, nor the joys this morning may have brought to you, but I do know that He is present in it all. I know that to lift Him above all else, no matter how dark the sky, births true worship.
Someday, no sun, moon, stars, eclipse, or heavenly show will even begin to compare with the unveiled glory of our King. We will stand in His presence, and the triumphal morning shout will shake the heavens.
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. (Revelation 21: 22-23 NKJV)
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