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The God Who Meets Us in the Dark · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. I'm going to
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be your host, Tracie, and we are finishing up
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this series, The God Who Meets Us in the Dark,
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one of the final episodes. And we're going to
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be talking about the cross, Holy Sunday, and
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what we can do on the other side of the dark.
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And so, if you're new to Fostering Faith, we
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do not have it all figured out, but we are fostering
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our faith together because we are better together.
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And if you're a return listener, welcome back
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home. We are glad that you tuned in today. And
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we're going to be talking about the God who meets
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us in the dark. There are some stories we love
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telling after we have reached the other side.
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We can look back and say, now I understand why
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God closed that door, or now I can see what God
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was doing. And those are beautiful stories, but
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not every story has reached that point. Some
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stories are still unfinished. Some prayers still
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feel unanswered. Some relationships remain broken.
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Some diagnoses have not changed. Some losses
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cannot be reversed. And some situations are still
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dark and cannot see what God is doing. And that
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is the kind of darkness that we're going to be
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talking about today. Not the darkness that we
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can explain after everything works out, but the
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darkness we are still trying to walk through.
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And so let us pray as we open up. Dear Heavenly
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Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you
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so much for these listeners. Thank you so much
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for eyes to see and ears to hear. Thank you that
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we have the gospel. Thank you that we are servants
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of the living God. Thank you that you are going
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to use pain for purpose. Thank you that we know
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that you are good. Thank you that we know that
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you are just. Thank you that we know that we
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are serving a mighty God. Thank you that we know
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that if you brought us to it, that you will bring
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us through it. Thank you for all that you do.
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In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen and amen. And so
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one of the main truths is that God does not always
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remove the darkness immediately, but his promise
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is to meet us in it. And so Psalm 139, 11 through
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12. tells us that even darkness is not dark to
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God. And we may not be able to see everything
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clearly, but God has not lost sight of us. Darkness
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can limit what we see, but it never limits what
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God sees. And so as we go into the real darkness,
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sometimes we feel so afraid of sounding unfaithful
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that we want to refuse to admit something hurt.
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We tell ourselves that I should be stronger,
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that I should pray harder, we should have more
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faith, we should stop crying and move on. But
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Scripture does not ask us to pretend. David wrote
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about fear and grief and loneliness and feeling
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forgotten. Job asked questions that he couldn't
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answer, and Aback had cried out over injustice.
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Jeremiah wept. Even Jesus cried at Lazarus' tomb.
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Faith is not denying that darkness exists. Faith
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is continuing to turn towards God while we are
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standing in it. In Psalm 23, 4 says, David does
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not say there is no valley. He does not pretend
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it is easy. His competence comes from knowing
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that he is not walking through it alone. And
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that is the promise. We would often prefer God
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to lead us around the valley, But sometimes he
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walks us through it. And whenever we talk about
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the darkness, and so it's about the diagnosis
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that we know that he could fix, we know that
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he can cure all disease. And so we've mentioned
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here on Fostering Faith several times that we've
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had parents that are ill. My husband quit his
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job to take care of his mom who has MS, who's
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in a wheelchair. And so we know that we serve
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a God that could fix the MS, that could get up
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and he could just walk. one day just walk, just
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get up and walk. And we are walking through the
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darkness of unhealing. And so we don't know what
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his promises are. We know what his promises are.
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We don't know his plan. And so we've often said,
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we've been praying for 20 years, but yet she's
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still in a wheelchair, yet she still cannot do
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things on her own. And so it's not the fact that
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we are just like out here doing a podcast because
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like, oh, just it's like rainbows and cupcakes.
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Absolutely not. Like we've and Derek's dad passed
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away of brain cancer. And so, you know, we have,
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we have sick parents and, you know, luckily my
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parents are both still alive. My dad has had
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health issues my whole life. My mom is in good
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health per se, but she, you know, hasn't, she's
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limited on walking. And so in that same instance,
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we walk through disease, we walk through diagnoses,
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we walk through loved ones passing away. And
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it's in that darkness that we know that we could
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heal them. You healed Lazarus, and so why couldn't
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you heal them? And so it's not about, we know
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that we serve a God that is just and that is
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kind, and that He is meeting us in our valleys.
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He's teaching us, He's molding us. And so because
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of this, my spring semester classes just came
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available. And so my husband and I were talking
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on the way to Gia's volleyball game about like
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pain and suffering. And so there's actually a
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class that I can take about pain and suffering
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in the church. And so I'm going to walk through
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that. I'm going to walk through that class this
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next semester. And so I'm hopefully going to
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gain insight, but I know that God can use pain
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for purpose and the valleys are where we typically
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get a better relationship with Him that we draw
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closer to Him and a lot of people don't use those
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valleys. They turn and leave because I prayed
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and you didn't answer. I know that you could
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heal but you didn't and they walk away. And so
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there is a choice in this matter. There is a
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choice that whenever we're in the valleys, we
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can get mad and walk away. But know that your
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God, that your Father is standing right by you
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and that He is never going to leave nor forsake
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you. And so as we are in valley seasons, as we
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are in the darkness, It's about, you know what?
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I just want to sit here with you. I'm going to
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cry. I'm going to weep. I'm going to be so mad.
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But you know what? Our God can handle it. Your
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father, your Abba, can handle. Our cries are,
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He knows that we have frustrations. He went through
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everything that we are going through. And so
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Jesus understands the darkness. We do not pray
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to a savior who watched suffering from a safe
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distance. Jesus experienced betrayal, rejection,
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physical pain, humiliation, grief, injustice,
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and death. On the cross, Darkness covered the
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land and Jesus cried, my God, my God, why have
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you forsaken me? Jesus entered the deepest human
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suffering. He knows what it feels like to cry
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out in the dark. That means whenever you come
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to God with your pain, you're not talking to
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someone who doesn't understand. You are coming
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to Jesus, the one who was betrayed by his friend,
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rejected by his own people, falsely accused,
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beaten, mocked, and then crucified. Your tears
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do not frighten him, your questions do not offend
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him, and your grief does not make you a bad Christian.
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Please hear that. Because you are in grief, because
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you are sadness, that means that you are a human,
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and God loves that. He knows all of these things
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that are going to happen. And so Psalm 34 18
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says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.
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He does not say that he is disgusted with the
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brokenhearted. He does not say that he is disappointed
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because there is still struggling. He says that
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he is near. And you may not feel him, but feeling
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are not always reliable evidence of God's presence.
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And we've talked about that before. God can be
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close even when he feels far away. And the silence
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of Saturday, and we talked a lot about that on
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Good Friday and the Resurrection Sunday, but
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there's also Dark Saturday. Jesus had died. His
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body was in the tomb. And then what? Nothing.
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The disciples didn't understand. What was happening?
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The teacher was gone. Their expectations shattered.
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Their future seemed uncertain. And we know Sunday
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is coming, but they did not. They had to live
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through and walk through Saturday. And many of
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us experience Saturday season. Some things hasn't
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ended, but we cannot see what comes next. We
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have experienced a loss. but not the restoration.
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We have prayed, but the answer has not come.
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And we know the promises of God, but our occurred
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circumstances do not seem to match them. Saturday
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looked silent, but God was not finished. Saturday
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looked final, but was not the end of the story.
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And we have to be careful here. This does not
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mean every difficult situation will turn around
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exactly as we want it. It does not mean that
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every illness will be healed in this life. every
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relationship will not be restored, and every
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closed door will eventually open. Christian hope
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is deeper than believing everything will happen
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according to our plan. Our hope is that Jesus
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rose from the grave, suffering sin and death
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will not have the final word. And as we've mentioned
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here, we have prayed for healing, and those people
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are with Jesus now. And my aunt said it so beautifully
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as she was passing away from cancer. She was
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like, you know what? Either Jesus heals me here
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or I will be with him in heaven. And so we are
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promised to be healed. He doesn't say that we're
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going to be healed here on earth, but we will
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be healed when we go to heaven. And so that's
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why it's just so important to know the people
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that are in your life and just pray for pray
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for them, pray for situations to where you can
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talk about Christ, praying that God softens their
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hearts, that their eyes can see, just that spiritual
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awakening per se. And so we always talk to the
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kids about being fishers of men and not watchers
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of the aquarium. And so it's about reaching the
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loss. It's about reaching those family members
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and the friends and people in our community that
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don't know Christ and how to walk with them through
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those struggles and those pains. Because if your
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God is so good, then why am I going through this?
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Because we live in a fallen, broken world. And
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we are never going to have every answer to every
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question that they have, but you know, it's about
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walking through their unbelief. And with your
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faith and God and the Holy Spirit to direct us,
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I mean, we really can't lose. And so Jesus weeps
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with us. And so John 11, Mary and Martha send
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word to Jesus that his brother Lazarus is sick.
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Jesus loves this family, but he does not arrive
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before Lazarus dies. When Jesus finally comes,
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both sisters say this painful thing, Lord, if
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you would have been here, my brother would have
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not died. Can you imagine knowing the guy that
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could heal and he was delayed because he wanted
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days in between time? In the honest statement,
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they believe that Jesus had the power to help
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them. They could not understand why he did not
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come sooner. Maybe you have prayed for something
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similar. God, if you would have stepped in, this
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wouldn't have happened. If you would have answered,
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my family would not be hurting. If you would
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have healed them, I would not be grieving. If
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you would have opened that door, I would not
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feel so lost. And Jesus does not shame Mary and
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Martha for that grief. He does not lecture them
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for asking questions. What does Jesus do? He
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weeps. He knows. that he's about to call Lazarus
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out of the tomb, yet he still enters their grief.
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That tells me that tears are not wasted simply
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because resurrection is true. Jesus has not rushed
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past the sorrow just because he knows the end
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of the story. Sometimes God gives us his presence
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before he gives us his explanations. And sometimes
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the answers we need at the moment is not that
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here is what happened. Sometimes it's a simple
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I'm here, and I'm weeping with you. And let someone
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else carry that hope for you. When God feels
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silent, isolation can make the darkness feel
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even louder. We stop answering messages. We withdraw
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from people. We convince ourselves that nobody
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understands what we are carrying alone, everything
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alone. But sometimes God meets us through other
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people. He meets us through a friend who sends
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a message at the right time. He meets us through
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someone bringing dinner whenever we didn't have
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the strength to cook. And it's so great because
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we were, I was talking to a person in clinic
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and we had talked about small groups and wasn't
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a part of this church, but she just needed community.
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I said, you know what? My church is getting ready
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to start small group season. Just show up, sign
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up for a small group that you feel like would
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be with you. And so if you guys are a part of
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a local church and your small group season start,
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invite people that don't come to your church.
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because it's about reaching those people that
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need it. And she was going through a hard time.
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And those ladies at that small group showed up
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at her door. They showed up in her depression.
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They showed up whatever she couldn't cook. And
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she just could not believe that people were out
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there in the community to love her. It wasn't
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that she belonged to this church, but it was
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about just being a part of a community. It was
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about being part of a small group. And so whenever
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he sends people in our life to love us, In our
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dark, He meets us through pastors, counselors,
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physicians, family members, trusted people, people
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to sit with us without trying to fix everything.
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Not everybody that has a problem needs you to
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fix them. In Mark 2, four friends carry a paralyzed
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man to Jesus. When they could not get through
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the crowd, they opened the roof to lower him
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down. The man is physically carried by faith
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in the effort of his friends. And there are seasons
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whenever we do not feel strong enough to carry
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our own hope. Let someone else help you carry
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it. You don't even need to give them a pause
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explanation. You can simply say, you don't need,
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I do not need to fix this. I need someone to
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just know that I'm struggling. And if you're
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supporting someone through darkness, resist their
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urge to explain everything. You don't have to
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give them a reason for their suffering. You don't
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have to find the perfect verse to say something
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profound, something Sometimes the most Christ
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-like thing you can do is just stay. Send the
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message. Remember the difficult anniversary.
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Bring a meal. Set in silence. Presence is in
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ministry. So what do you do in the dark? When
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you cannot see the entire path, focus on the
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next faithful step. In Micah 7 -8, it says, You
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may not receive enough light to see the next
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five years. You may only see and receive light
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for today. So ask yourself these three questions.
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First, what am I grieving? And name it honestly.
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Don't minimize it or make it sound more spiritual
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than what it is. But what am I grieving? Two,
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what do I know? Facts. What are the facts? Not
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what you're assuming, not what you're doubting.
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But what do I know? What do the life, death,
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and resurrection of Jesus reveal about God? I
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know God sees me. I know Jesus understands suffering.
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I know God is nearer to the brokenhearted. And
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I know the darkness is not greater than the light.
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I know resurrection means death does not have
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the final word. These are truths. And so we pause.
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We reflect. And we know what the truth says.
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And so third, what do I need to entrust to God?
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Complete the sentence. God, I place into your
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hands whatever you're dealing with, the grief,
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the loss, the sorrow, the anger, the confusion,
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because we serve God of order and not of confusion.
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Maybe as a person, a diagnosis, a relationship,
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a timeline, an outcome, or an explanation that
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you desperately want. And trusting someone to
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God does not mean you stop caring. It means that
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you acknowledge that you cannot control it. Please
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hear me. Stop trying to control everything. Quit
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trying to produce your end of your story. We
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want God's will. We do not want our will. We
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want His best and not our best. We want His future
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for ourselves, not our future. We are so small
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-minded. and we serve such a mighty God that
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is so good to us. And I think that we lose fact
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because we think that we know better. We think
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that we have it all just kind of mapped out,
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and this way is so much better than what He wants.
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And it's not. There's no way that we could fathom
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the goodness of God. John 1 .5 says, the light
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shined in the darkness, and the darkness does
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not grasp it. The darkness is real, but it is
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not stronger than Jesus. We may be walking through
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a dark season, but you are not walking through
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it alone. The same Jesus who wept with Lazarus'
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tombs suffered on the cross, entered the grave,
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and walked out of the tomb with you. You do not
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have to pretend that the darkness has not hurt.
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You do not have to understand everything that
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God is doing. You do not have to force yourself
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to feel hopeless every moment. You can grieve
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and still have faith. You can cry and still trust
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God. You can have questions and still turn towards
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Jesus. The darkness may be part of your story,
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but because of Jesus, it will never have the
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final say. And so let's pray. Jesus, thank you
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so much for being there in our grief. Thank you
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that you entered suffering and death and darkness
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in the tomb. Thank you that there is no place
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that we can go where you cannot reach us. Bring
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you an unfinished story, our unanswered questions,
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and our prayers that we have not received answers
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that we wanted. Meet us here. Help us stop treating
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grief as a failure of faith. Give us safe people
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who we can sit next to us and pray with us and
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help us carry whenever we feel weak. We cannot
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trace your hand. Help us trace our heart. Whenever
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we cannot see the whole path, give us enough
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light for the next faithful step. Remind us that
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the darkness is not dark. to you and that you
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are near to the brokenhearted and that the light
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shines so bright and that every tear you will
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wipe away. Thank you for all that you do. In
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Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen. I want to
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thank you guys for spending time with me. I know
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that there's so many podcasts out there, but
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you guys chose to spend almost 20 minutes with
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me. And if you're someone walking through dark
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difficulties and share this episode with somebody,
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remind them that they need other people and that
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we don't have all the answers and that we can
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walk through this darkness together. God may
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feel silent, but you are not unseen. The darkness
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is still not the end of your story. Until next
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time, keep fostering your faith and we love you
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guys. Have a great day.