Topic: This Is How You Can Face the Darkness [RICK WARREN Devotional 4 September 2020]
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This Is How You Can Face the Darkness
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”
Isaiah 45:3 (NIV)We long to be known, and one of the first ways we are known is by our name. God says, “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3 NIV). God is personal, and he calls you by name.
There is nothing more intimate than being fully known—all of your weirdness and weaknesses, what makes you laugh and cry, your fears, hopes, and dreams. No one will fully know you on earth, but God does. He’s the only one who sees through the layers of your personality to the core of your being.
The God who calls you by name has hidden riches in your suffering and darkness. He can intervene in your darkness, and he will be close to you in that darkness. This should lead you to praise him. What we know about God leads us to worship.
When Job lost everything that mattered to him, he worshiped because of what he knew to be true about God: “Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother, and naked I will return. The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away! May the name of the Lord be praised’” (Job 1:20-21 GW). Even as Job lost everything, what he knew about God caused him to fall on his face and say, “God, I don’t know what’s going on, but I understand you’ve given and you’ve taken away, and I praise your name.”
Worship itself is a treasure in the darkness. Even in pain, you can know that he is a good and loving God. He knows you by name and notices every detail of your life. He is in control. And he has a plan for your life.
You must be open to the possibility that God has gold and diamonds hidden in secret places and be ready to receive and embrace these treasures as he shows them to you. Whether he intervenes or not, you can know he is the intimate, personal God who will be close as you walk through the darkness.
This is how you face the darkness and find hope.
- What has the Lord allowed to be taken from you? How did you respond?
- Do you look at opportunities to worship God as treasures? Why or why not?
- What are some other truths about who God is that cause you to worship him, even in suffering?
About Kay Warren
Kay Warren cofounded Saddleback Church with her husband, Rick Warren, in Lake Forest, California in 1980. After the death of her son, Matthew, who lived with serious mental illness for most of his life, she founded Saddleback’s Hope for Mental Health Initiative as a way to support individuals and family members of loved ones with mental illness and suicidal ideation. The Initiative also trains others in the faith community how to launch or expand existing mental health ministries.
Kay is a board member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and is active in mental health/suicide prevention efforts in Orange County, CA. Kay is the author of Sacred Privilege: Your Life and Ministry as a Pastor’s Wife, Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn’t Enough, Say Yes to God: A Call to Courageous Surrender, and coauthor of Foundations, a popular systematic theology course used by churches worldwide. Her children are Amy and Josh, and Matthew (who is in heaven), and she has five grandchildren.
Learn more at KayWarren.com and follow her on Facebook (KayWarrensPage) Twitter (@KayWarren1) and Instagram (@KayWarren75).