When we're travelling through a dark and scary patch in our lives, there's a strong temptation to do the wrong thing, to save our skin. But there is another way….

What We do in the Dark

Well, it's great to be with you again this week. I'm not sure if you were able to join us last week but we began a new series called "Dark Night, Bright Light". Darkness, well, we all travel through darkness in our lives. There are times when, I don't know, the storm clouds just come rolling over the top and maybe we've been sick or maybe we have lost someone we love or maybe we have been hurt and it's not to say that we are a bunch of losers. I don't mean that, it's just the reality of life.

Jacqui, my wife, was talking to a long time friend of hers and their children are growing up and there are lots of challenges and problems and she is just exhausted. Or a dear friend of mine whose son committed suicide and he and his wife are still reeling from that. Or a friend who has been retrenched and he's in his fifties and it's hard to find a job. Stuff like that happens – dark times; difficult times, well, in those darknesses, we just can't see where we are or where we are headed.

I have had them, you've had them and that's life. Jesus said this amazing thing – He said: "I am the light of the world," and one of the things we saw last week is that He is in the "light" business and that's good news for anyone going through a dark patch. The very first thing that God created in Genesis chapter 1 was "light" – a trillion, trillion stars, at least – God is definitely in the "light" business. Halleluiah! Don't you think?

And we spent some time last week with King David in a Psalm; Psalm 34. If you have got your Bible, grab it, open it up – we are going there again today. Psalm 34 is kind of a retrospective; a hindsight look at the dark times that David has been through where he was afraid and God showed up. Let me just read the first part of it again. Psalm 34, beginning at verse 1. David says:

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look at Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called and the Lord heard him; He saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

You see, what David is saying here is that God is a God who shows up in the dark times and delivers us. And David is not saying that off the top of his head or out of a text book; he is saying it from having experienced God in all the dark times that he travelled through in his life. He spent such a long time on the run from Saul who was trying to kill him. He lived in dark places and lonely places, in fear for his life. He fought so many battles where he was hard pressed and he should have been killed but God was there for him – God showed up.

And one of the things that we touched on last week was fear – the bad fear that we have and the good fear. The bad fear is the fear that David talks about in verse 4 of this Psalm. He says:

I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my 'fears'.

And we do get afraid and it immobilises us but the good fear he talks about in verse 7:

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who 'fear' Him and He delivers them.

The fear of the Lord – we are going to have a look at that some more today because it's what the next part of Psalm 34 is all about. I want you to come with me now as we read just the next five verses of this Psalm. Psalm 34, verses 9 to 14 which is where we are going to spend our time together today. This is what David writes – he says:

Fear the Lord you His holy ones for those who fear Him will have no want. The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. Come my children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

This is a really important part of the Psalm. The first part told us all about God and what He is like and that's fantastic but this second part; it's about the part that we have to play in those dark times. I want to tell you something about darkness. People will do things in the dark that they won't do in the light. Let me say that again because it's really important: people will do things in the dark that they won't do in the light.

Think about it – we are much more careful about where we walk and what we do out there in the dark; in the night time than we are by day. Robberies, muggings, murders are all more likely to happen under the cover of darkness than they are in day light where the criminal might be seen and get caught.

The same thing is true in our lives – dark times – well, those are the times where we are far more likely to do things that we know are wrong. Let me just give you a few practical everyday examples. Things are tough; we are feeling down – you know what a lot of people do? They over eat – comfort food, they call it. They put on weight; they feel a whole bunch worse about themselves than when they started. Or a husband and wife – they are going through a tough time in their marriage and their minds and eyes start to wander; they start looking around; that's how adultery begins – instead of holding each other close and working through the issues.

Or perhaps there is conflict at work – someone is just not treating us well and we are feeling under pressure. It's really getting to us; the boss is being just horrible and we take that as an excuse to justify being lazy or stealing something or gossiping behind their backs or not servicing a customer properly so that the firm will lose some money.

Or perhaps money is really tight; there is real financial pressure in our lives and we are tempted to lie and cheat on our tax returns, or when the shop attendant makes a mistake and gives us too much change we just slip it in our pockets. Do you see how easy this stuff is? In the dark times; in those hidden places the temptation to do wrong is far greater than when the times are good."

"No one is going to notice! After all, times are tough – I have to look after number one – me; I have to justify myself or protect myself or provide for myself." That's how we rationalise this stuff. And notice the central theme through all of that – me, myself and I.

In those dark times we often experience fear – the times when we are afraid and in those dark times we often experience the temptation to sin; to turn away from what we know is right because no one will notice. And we just have to; we have to sin to save our skin.

And the devil loves it this way; he's so delighted to see this. The Apostle John puts it this way in First John chapter 1, verse 5 – he says:

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare it to you: God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to walk with Him and yet we walk in the darkness, we are lying and we don't live up to the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

So today, we are going to take a look at the wisdom that comes from David's experience in those dark times – the wisdom about how we behave. What he learned to do when temptation came in those dark times.

Let's Take a Closer Look

Well, we are going to take a bit of a closer look at this part of Psalm 34 because that's how we learn what God is teaching us through David's wisdom. Let's read just a few verses again. Psalm 34 verses 9 to 11, David writes:

Fear the Lord you His holy ones, for those who fear Him will have no want. Sure the lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. Come my children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

I love this because it's a place where God gives us His solutions to our problems. See, it's not good enough for Him to rap us over the knuckles with a ruler when we are doing the wrong thing. We need to know how not to repeat the mistake and that's what this piece of wisdom is all about. Let's look at verse 9 again:

Fear the Lord you His holy ones, for those who fear Him will have no want.

Last week we saw that the fear of the Lord has two parts. The most obvious definition of 'fear' is to be afraid but it also means to reverence and to honour. And I want to talk about those today – it's important. You know, it's really easy to imagine that somehow, God is just our buddy; like another friend, And to be sure, He is our friend but God is also an awesome God and ultimately, He will see justice done. There will be a day of judgement; there will be a day when we have to give an account before Him for all that we have done and all that we have said.

Jesus made that really clear in Matthew chapter 10, verse 28 – we can read this. Jesus said:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

We need to never lose sight of that – there are consequences to our sin; there are consequences to rebelling against God and if we just go on wantonly, stealing or lying or grumbling or hating or undermining or living in sexual sin or whatever it is, and we think to ourselves, "Well, that's ok. God's my buddy", then let me make this clear: we are completely missing the point.

Yes, Jesus died for your sins and mine – absolutely. And when I get something wrong, I go to God and admit it and say, "Lord, I just got this wrong. I don't want to go there again. Please forgive me God," and He does. But that attitude is one that comes out of the fear of the Lord, I have to tell you. A casual attitude towards God; that thinks that we can just keep on sinning, is not on – He won't honour it. Why? Because if you believe Jesus, His plan is for you and me to be holy; in other words, to be clean and pure and set apart exclusively for God's use. Listen again to verse 9:

Fear the Lord, you His holy ones, for those who fear Him will have no want.

See, we are not our own, we are bought at a price and God has this awesome plan to use us just as He pleases and the devil knows that. That's why, when times are tough; when we are travelling through a dark place, he wants to smear us with that darkness. He is the deception – things are difficult, therefore I have to bend the rules to set it right – money is tight so I have to steal to provide for myself. The boss is giving me a hard time so I have to stab him in the back to set things right. My husband or my wife isn't everything they should be, I have to start looking around somewhere else to find someone who is everything they should be.

The devil will play that rubbish over and over and over again until we swallow it hook, line and sinker and God's answer is exactly the opposite. "

Fear the Lord, you His holy ones, for those who fear Him will have no want. The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing.

God's way is to provide for us – not all our wants, but all our needs. And when we fear the Lord; when we fear His judgement and honour Him and reverence Him with what we think and what we say and what we do, God will make sure that we have what we need. What a huge opposite to our natural inclination!

"Yes, times are tough; yes, money is tight but I will fill out my tax return honestly. I won't claim expenses from my company that are really personal rather that company expenses. I don't care how tough things get financially, I am going to fear the Lord because I am bought for a price; I am holy; I am set apart for Him and His Word says that in those dark times, if I fear Him, I will have no want and when I seek Him with all my heart I will lack no good thing."

Do you get it? David is saying here, "I learned in my dark times just to stand for God; just to do the right thing; to fear Him, to be holy because he will provide for me." And remember David is teaching us from having been on the run from King Saul who wanted to kill him for years – sleeping in dark caves; fearing for his life. This is what he learned in his dark places and that's why he is telling us this stuff. He is saying, "Listen to me for I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Come my children, listen to me."

In other words "Listen to me – this works – I know it does because I have been there."

Where the Rubber Hits the Road

I hope you are being blessed as I am as we work our way through the wondrous Word of God. Imagine the God who created the whole universe speaking to you and me through His Word; through something that was written about three thousand years ago. I want to finish off with just the next few verses of this Psalm because they contain a specific challenge – a challenge that God is making to you and to me today. Have a listen – Psalm 34, verses 11 to 14:

Come my children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

See, sometimes we wonder "Well, how do we live out this fear of the Lord? Do I sit in a corner and tremble?" No, not at all! David remember, this David who is speaking to us from his own difficult, dark experience – he is throwing down a challenge – he is teaching us how to live in the fear of the Lord.

Quite simply; paraphrasing, he is saying "Do you want to live a good life? Do you want to live a great life?" Well, here's how to do it – by living out the fear of the Lord through what you say and what you do.

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies, turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

Now, we are all different – we are all prone to different forms of the same thing that God calls "sin". For some people it's grumbling, for others it's gambling or lying or stealing or carrying around hatred in our hearts and "speaking it out behind peoples" backs, or gossiping or sexual sin. You name it, the list goes on – overeating, getting drunk, closing ourselves off from other people and family – over and over again – the list is really long.

And my hunch is that we each know which one or two are the particular ones that we are prone to. And here's the challenge: if we are in a dark and fearful place; a place where there is a temptation to stop doing good and to do wrong; to turn away from God and to sin so that we can save our skin – here's the challenge: to turn away from that stuff and do good instead and put our faith in God.

That's what it means in practical terms to "fear the Lord" – that's how we live out the fear of the Lord, with our lives. See, we delude ourselves if we somehow imagine that in that dark place, God can't see what's going on. Wake up! Listen to what the Apostle Paul writes to his friends in Galatia – you can read it in Galatians chapter 6, beginning at verse 7. And if you have a Bible, come here with me and share in God's Word with me.

I was with a group of Christians recently and they just paid lip service to God's Word. Let's be serious about getting God's Word into us – Galatians chapter 6, verse 7:

Don't be deceived – God cannot be mocked. You are going to reap what you sow. If you sow to please your sinful nature, from that nature you will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, however, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Don't become weary of doing good for just at the right time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up. Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of God.

That was written about a thousand years after David and it's saying the same thing in a different way. In those dark places it is so tempting to grow weary of doing good; to sin in order to save our skin; to provide for ourselves in our own strength. Paul is saying, "Just keep going. Don't become weary of doing good because in God's time you will reap the harvest."

That's the challenge! It's the challenge for each one of us in difficult circumstances in dark place to stop making excuses. They are the very places where the devil wants to tear us apart. That's the very place where we have to vigilant – to bow down our lives; to fear the Lord; just do the right thing day after day after day and His light will shine in that place. It has too – that's who He is – God honours those who honour Him. And in those dark places, when step by step, we discover His light, that is such a precious, awesome and mighty thing – it changes us like nothing else. That's why David starts his Psalm off with such gusto of praise because he knows all this stuff through his own experience.

I will bless the Lord all the time. His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord – let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt in His name for I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called and the Lord heard him; He saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Fear the Lord you holy ones, for those who fear Him will have no want. The lions may well grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Isn't it amazing how we can rationalise and complicate and make excuses in those dark places? When you and I are walking through the dark the devil sees what is going on and God's see what's going on and in that dark place, God is so ready; so willing to shine His bright light on that dark night.

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, just keep your tongue from evil; just stop your lips from speaking lies; turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

God is in that place with you no matter how dark the night is; His bright light will shine in your heart.