Am I the only person who was afraid of the dark as a child? I still get slight chills remembering when my grandmother would close our bedroom door, and the endless night’s abyss would take over my room. I was the older brother, and my young brother shared a room with me, so when he would say, “Del, are you scared,” I’d find myself faking confidence in between my Ninja Turtle bed sheets, peaking through my comforter with a trembling voice to respond, “Of course I’m not scared.” But little did he know, with every creaking floor noise, my heart would sink deeper into this overwhelming fear of the dark.
Looking back on my childhood, I laugh at the level of fear I had of the dark. I mean seriously, what’s the worst that could’ve happened? How was it that the dark could paralyze me in my bed as a child? I mean seriously guys. Do you know how hard it is to go to the bathroom when you’re ten years old and you know for a fact that the Boogie man is under your bed, waiting to grab you by the ankles and pull you into his living space between my bed and the floor?! Laughable right?
At ten years old, the fear of darkness is laughable. But all the giggles disappear when you’re 32 years old, and darkness overwhelms your life. I’m not talking about the darkness caused by the turning of a light switch. I’m referring to the darkness that creeps over all your hopes and joys in life. What do you do when life has gotten so dark, that it even becomes difficult to see the light of Christ? Very few can be honest enough to admit, that there have been times, even as a Spirit-filled Christian, where life’s darkness has paralyzed us and we find ourselves stuck in the bed of life, unable to move. How do you overcome this fear of the dark?
See, as a child, it simply took the courage to turn the light on. But getting to that light switch was a big deal. I remember saving up money as a child, and I purchased a night light. It was a limited edition “Duck Tales” night light. I plugged it into the outlet near my bed, and that small light managed to dimly light up the whole room, and my fears were relieved, because now I could see.
It’s not the “darkness” that really scared me as a child. It was the fear of the unknown. The fear of negative possibilities.
As an adult, I’m sure that if you surveyed the darkest moments of your life, most of the fears that you had, had to do with the unknown. Questions like, when am I going to get married? Where’s my life going? How long will this sickness last?
Andrae Crouch, a great gospel song writer, wrote a song titled, “Jesus is the Answer!” As corny as that sounds, it’s so true. Jesus really is the answer to every question in life, and He really does conquer every fear. But let’s be honest, getting to Jesus can be so difficult. How do we work up the courage to reach towards heaven’s light switch to turn the Father of Lights on in our darkness? WORSHIP!
When I feel overwhelmed in life, and darkness has sat in, I’ve found that I’ve allowed the wrong thing to have my attention. In the darkness, we focus on what’s going wrong and what’s not right. We make much of the darkness, and simply forget to acknowledge the light that is present in our situation. This is why we need to reach for God when we feel overwhelmed.
From the end of the earth will I cry to you, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 6:2
My attempt in writing this blog is not to minimize those difficult things that we go through, but rather maximize the One who goes through with us. Here’s where worship comes in. Worship honors God for who He is, no matter the season or situation. Not only does worship honor God for who He is, it also causes our eyes to see Him for who He is.
“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together”.
Psalm 34:3
Theologically, it’s impossible to do what the psalmist exhorts us to do in Psalms 34:3. How do we magnify, or make God bigger? God is already big. Not only is He big, but He’s the biggest. It doesn’t get bigger than God. I believe the psalmist is letting us in on a little secret. The psalmist is letting us know that as we worship God, He doesn’t get bigger, we simply see Him bigger. It’s as if worship gives us new spiritual contact lenses, by which we see our situation in the light of who God is. Worship turns the lights on. And when The Light comes on, it exposes darkness for what it really is. Darkness is a lie. Darkness is the lie that tells you things won’t get better, your sickness won’t be healed, or your marriage won’t be restored. To the darkness I say, let the light in.
Maybe you’re like that ten year old child who has become paralyzed by the darkness of your season. To you I say, worship in the dark. Worship when darkness surrounds you. And as you worship, the Father of Lights will make His presence known, and fear will have no choice but to subside. I can’t promise you that worship will change your situation. But like the light switch did in my bedroom, worship will illuminate your space and help you to see things as they really are, and not how darkness desires you to see it.
Today, I encourage you to let the light into your space. Allow worship to fill your space, and watch the light of God expose all those lies of darkness. Worshipping in the dark takes courage and faith. But you are built to be a worshipper. So go ahead and worship in the dark.
About The Author
Pastor Del Augusta is the founder of The Collide, which is a para church ministry that seeks to birth revival in this generation through conferences, seminars, and spiritual gatherings.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Del lost his mother at the age of four to death and was raised by his grandmother in a Pentecostal church in San Francisco. He accepted Christ as his savior at the age of 12 and began his ministry at 14.
For the past 15 years of ministry Del’s message has been marked with a humorous yet prophetic edge. Having travelled to over 10 countries preaching the gospel, Del’s desire is to see this generation come alive to Jesus in a sustainable way. Known for abruptness, Del believes that this generation is not waiting for more Sunday morning church services where we babysit the youth while the adults do their things. Del’s dream is to see churches awaken to the call to take over the world for Jesus without apology.