You know – when we’re travelling through one of life’s dark patches, it’s so easy for someone else to say – “Well, just take the problem to God.” But there’s only one way to find out if that’s good advice. Suck it and see.

Over these last few days on the program we've been looking at those dark patches in life, those times that we all travel through that we'd rather not and we've been sharing in some of the experiences of King David who had more than his share of dark times in life and as he writes about that in Psalm 34, looking back on what he's leaned in those times, he makes this simple yet profound statement:

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

And maybe, maybe you've been travelling through one of those dark times and you hear what David has to say and perhaps you've heard the little that I've shared of my own darkness’s and you think to yourself, "Well that's okay for someone like David or for that guy on the radio. Maybe God would show up for them but I don't think this stuff is for me." Well here’s the rub; unless we seek we never find out whether it is or not and so today I want to share a very specific invitation from God, an invitation that is seriously for you.

This week on the program we've been looking at some of the debilitating darkness’s we travel through in life, you know those really tough times when we're hurting or we've lost something or someone’s hurt us. You know those dark times in life and we've discovered that God is very much in the "light" business, He's in the business of shining His light into our darkness's, taking our fear and replacing it with His radiance. Perhaps that’s why King David writes – it's in Psalm 18, verse 28:

It is you O Lord who lights my lamp. The Lord my God lights up my darkness.

And again in Psalm 139, verses 11 and 12. He writes:

If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light will become night around me', even the darkness will not be dark to you O God. The night will shine like day for darkness is as light to you.

See, you get this impression that David is an incredibly seasoned traveller through the darkness's of life and we know that he spent years on the run from King Saul who was trying to kill him, we know that David went through so many wars and battles where he could have died and where he would have been afraid and the people grumbled and sometimes turned against him.

He's been through dark places and then some and he's learned some stuff that God would have us learn, each in our own way because you're not David, I'm not David. So let’s head back to this psalm that we've been looking at, Psalm 34, verses 7 and 8 just to see what it is that David learned. This is what he writes, he says:

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Now there are two things in here that we need to get into. The first is that bit about the angel of the Lord, look at verse 7 again:

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

Angels have a bit of a funny symbology these days in our society, we stick them on our cards and they're fluffy little creatures with wings but you just take a short study of the angels that God describes in the Bible and what you discover is they are a fearsome lot.

Often God uses them as messengers and He sends them to talk to someone and invariably when an angel confronts a person the very first thing they say is, "Don't be afraid." And then they deliver a specific message to Gods people to protect them from trouble and often they appear as fearsome beings to protect Gods people. I'm going to read you a little passage from 2 Chronicles chapter 32, verse 20. It says this:

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and the officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace and he went to the temple of his god and some of his sons cut him down with a sword.

See, get it? This angel equals serious protection. You see presidents and prime ministers and kings and queens, they get around with their bullet proof glass cars and they're security contingents. They got nothing on an angel of the Lord and you might say, "Berni, do you seriously believe in angels?" Absolutely! We can't see them but when we fear God, when we reverence Him and we belong to Him, He sends His angels, listen to what David says:

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him.

He sends His angels literally to lay siege around us to protect us. How does David know that? Because he's experienced it and that’s exactly what he says in the next verse. He says:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

This is an often quoted scripture and often out of context, this "taste and see", "suck it and see" scripture. When you're in the darkness, when you're afraid try this thing, this thing that David is talking about. It's like an invitation to you and me from God today. For goodness sake taste and see that the Lord is good. You can stand back in your darkness and say, "Well you know I just don't believe that God’s going to do anything for me."

David said, "I turned to the Lord and He answered me, He delivered me from all his fears and now He is giving us the invitation of God." Go on, taste and see for yourself that the Lord is good. You will be blessed when you take refuge in Him. "Come on try it!" I can hear the spirit of God saying through His word today. "Come on try it because when you take refuge in Me you will be blessed", is what God's saying.

I don't know about you but God has seriously spoken to me and I encourage you to take Him at His word today. He is in the light business and it's something that David discovered through long hard experiences in darkness. You know the last thing we want to do is to turn to God. “Taste and see that the Lord is good”, He is in the light business and David knew that and David travelled through dark times and he cried out to God and God always delivered him and that’s why he comes out the other side of that singing Gods praises specifically for you and me to hear.

I will bless the Lord at all times (he sings), His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in God; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Come and glorify God with me; let’s exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. When we look on Him our faces are radiant; never covered in shame.

This poor man called and the Lord heard Him and He saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them. (Come on) Taste and see that the Lord is good for blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

I want to encourage you to join me in taking God at His word. If you're going through a dark time at the moment, cry out to God, go and see Him and He will answer and maybe one day you'll be travelling through a dark time and the Holy Spirit will just remind you of what you heard today. You see it's no coincidence that you and I are together today. When He does, follow that call, open your heart.

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