01/11/2026 – “Praise in the Darkness” / Psalm 22 – comment below
“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not not sin or charge God with wrong. JOB 1: 20-22
“Job is perhaps the greatest biblical example of endurance in hardship. Despite being a blameless and upright man, in just one day he experience the death of his children and the loss of nearly all his possessions. Yet one of his first reactions was to acknowledge God’s sovereignty both in plenty and in poverty, in bringing joyful circumstances and in bringing grievous ones. As chaos, disappointment, and pain descended upon him, he shaved his head, put on his torn robe, and fell to the ground, not only in anguish but also in worship.
Remarkably, in the darkness of this pain “Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Instead, in his tears, he trusted in God’s providence. In other words, he recognized that God knows what He is doing in every circumstance. God is worthy of our praise even in the hardest situations. Job knew that his times were in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15).
Most of us have lived through cries of anguish and pools of tears. We know how hard it can be to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and goodness in the middle of a storm. We wonder where He is. In our human response to pain, we’re inclined to find statements about God’s providence stale or cliched – but they aren’t. In fact, with the passing of time or the changing of circumstances, we can look over our shoulders and recognize that there is no tragic situation that God has not sovereignly permitted. He allows all things to pass through His hands, and they do not take Him by surprise.
We must not make light of each other’s pain or offer easy answers. Instead, we are called to spur each other on to Christlikeness during times of hardship, reminding one another that God has granted us eternal life and steadfast love and that His care has preserved our spirits (Job 10:12). And, of course, we can look back in history and see that your God has entered the darkness of this world and plumbed the depths of suffering. He is a God who knows what it is like to be us. He is a God who has set before us a future where there is no pain or crying.
Even in the difficulties of life and the depths of pain, the fatherly providence of God permits all things for our good and His glory. He has proved that He knows what He is doing. For that, we can still praise Him in the darkness.
PSALM 22
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Here is the footnote to Psalm 22 from my Apologetics Study Bible:
“This was David’s prayer for deliverance from his enemies who surrounded him to put him to death, but it was also indirectly prophetic of the prayer of Jesus from the cross. While the words of David may be highly figurative for his experience, they became historically precise in the suffering of the Savior. David’s prayer to be delivered from death (22:20) was eventually answered, prompting him to praise God in the assembly (vv. 22,25). Jesus’ prayer, using the words of this psalm was answered in the resurrection, for Hebrews 2:12 quotes the David words of praise in verse 22 as the word of the Lord.”
Comment:
I pray the Psalms in adoration. I had the blessing of a small prayer group that prayed the entire book of Psalms to start weekly prayer sessions, in eight weekly cycles. (“ACTS” acronym for prayer order: Adoration; Confession; Thanksgiving; Supplication (Petition) ) So, one could go beyond what is a “dead on” description of Jesus on the cross a thousand years after it was written, verses 1 through 18, praying just verses 19 through 31. Note: Another example amongst countless examples, “I don’t have nearly enough faith to be an atheist!” So that connects personally to Luke 12:48: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”
Soli Deo Gloria!