Praises In The Dark
At church this morning, as we were singing, “You are the only King forever, Almighty God, we lift You higher; You are the only King forever…” the power went out. The auditorium went dark, and most instruments fell silent except for the faint strums of the guitar no longer amplified. But the voices continued in praise, “…Forevermore, You are victorious!” The power was quickly restored, but technical glitches remained throughout most of the service. Yet the people continued to worship, singing, “This we know, we will see the enemy run; this we know, we will see the victory come; We hold on to every promise You’ve ever made; Jesus, You are unfailing!” and “God is able, He will never fail, He is Almighty God…lifted up He defeated the grave; Raised to life, our God is able; in His name we overcome, for the Lord our God is able!”
What happened this morning is a picture of real life, isn’t it? We lose our power, our strength. Our worlds fall dark and silent. And we have to decide if we will allow the darkness to silence us, or if we will keep singing. There is unbelievable power in praise. When we declare with our mouths what we undoubtedly know in our hearts, the enemy WILL run- he cannot survive in the presence of Almighty God, who inhabits the praises of His people. What a powerful testimony when God’s people can’t be silenced!
Electricity fails. Technology fails. People and circumstances disappoint. Expectations are not met. Will we allow these things to distract and hinder our worship? Or will we choose to focus on the One who is victorious? The One who is unfailing. The One who defeated the grave. The One who empowers us to overcome. The God who is able. The God we live to worship. The One who is the only King forever. And what a great reassurance to know that this King delights in our imperfect worship, the praises we offer in the dark.
No one could have known how our church service would play out this morning. But I think it’s in those unpredictable moments completely out of our control, that God reminds us that none of it is about getting everything right. It’s about offering all that we are. It’s about experiencing God in the glitches as well as the glories of life, and letting Him restore the power, the light and the harmony in our lives, even if that means praising Him in the dark.
