She was sitting in a well-lit room and squeals of laughter echoed through the hall. But inside her heart was a darkness so consuming she wasn’t sure what to do. The tears were gone, at least for the moment. She just felt numb.

Can you relate to this feeling?

We all experience darkness of some kind throughout the course of our lives. Many of us have walked through depression and intense anxiety. It may be the darkness of physical pain where your body is weak and fighting for survival. It might be the darkness of emotional suffering where your heart is shattered and the pieces are screaming for something to make all the pain go away. Or worse—it may be spiritual darkness where unanswered questions, shame, and overwhelming isolation are more than you can bear.

In Scripture, there are many men and women who suffered in the darkness. Job was one of them. Job was an influential, wealthy man who had many children and a heart that loved God. As a result of his righteous life, he was on the devil’s hit list. One day Satan came to God and during their discussion, the Lord asked Satan if he had noticed His servant, Job. Satan bitterly told God that Job was righteous only because he had been lavishly doted upon by God and if all his luxuries and comforts were taken away, he would turn from his faith and curse the God he professed to love so much. The Lord then allowed Satan to destroy Job’s children, his servants, and his wealth all in one day. Later, his health was attacked. But in all his afflictions, Job never sinned or blamed God.

Instead, he fell on his face and worshiped.

When we are hit with the darkness of pain or loss, our first inclination is to angrily ask God “Why?” not fall to our knees in worship. We often sit and stew instead of stand and sing praises. But while Job worshiped, he also freely and clearly expressed how he felt when he explained the state of his mind and spirit in chapter 10, verse 22:

“A land of darkness, as darkness itself...where the light is as darkness.”
(Job 10:22)

One would think that Job had been mistreated and subsequently abandoned by God when, chapter after chapter, we see Job voicing his questions and his pain only to be met with silence.

It seemed unfair and cruel.

Finally, God speaks in chapter 38, but what He says isn’t what Job had hoped to hear. Job wanted answers as we all do.

Was he guilty of a sin that required so much suffering?

God, however, never answered one of Job’s questions, but changed the subject and simply spoke about His own mighty power. Job could only sit in humble silence because, in reality, God isn’t interested in merely answering our questions of “Why?” He is after something much deeper and much better.

The Bible says “...the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10). Satan wants us to be weak and defeated and in order to accomplish this, he strikes hard, aiming to steal and to kill so that he can then destroy the joy that is able to make us strong.

Job blessed the name of God, even when God allowed everything to be taken from him. It didn’t mean Job wasn’t hurting or grieving, nor did it mean his choice to worship instantly fixed the situation. Job simply knew that God was worthy to be praised, and the joy of His love exists outside of our feelings and circumstances. That reality became his strength to worship.

It’s important for us to remember that when God sets us in quiet, dark places, it never means that He has forsaken us. His silence is often to instill patience and teach us how to trust Him completely.

No matter what kind of darkness it might be that you are experiencing, walking through a season where even the light looks like night can be one of the most precious gifts God can give to us because it is while we are sitting in the darkness that He is able to reveal Himself to us as the Light of the world.

May we trust Him and offer Him praise no matter what.