Seeing God In The Dark
Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
We were headed to Europe, to play a sold out show in Amsterdam. This trip was a dream come true for me. My family is from The Netherlands and it was a place that I had always hoped and prayed that we would play. This trip however, was clouded in sadness. One of my closest friends, our long time sound-man, Anthony Martinez and his wife Lauren had just lost their daughter, Pieper at birth. It was completely unexpected and left Anthony and Lauren completely numbed with pain. We asked them both to come on the tour in hopes of being able to shower them with love and support. While we were sound-checking, our wives were walking through the city. They came back super excited to have found the perfect place to go for a post show dinner: a cafe called “Pieper.” It was the only time they had ever seen another use of the spelling that they had chosen for their daughters name. After the show we all went out to the cafe. We shared some words of support and remembered sweet Pieper. As we got up to leave, I noticed that the only thing on any of the walls was was a framed document…it was an award given to the Pieper Cafe for hospitality. The date on the award – the only date visible in the entire cafe – was August 25th, the same date as baby Piepers birthday! We were all in disbelief. Piepers name and birthdate on a wall, in a cafe, all the way on the other side of the world! We thought, ‘This is where God’s angels fly, right in the middle of our loss. We could feel God’s presence. It felt like he was showing us that He was right there with us, even in the midst of the hardest pain.
When I think about the things that have challenged my faith the most….the dark nights of my life. It was seeing some of my closest friends lose their child at birth, losing my father to cancer at a young age, being in the NICU with my newborn son and not knowing if he would make it through another night and the loss of a friend who died way to young in a horrific car crash. These are also the very same things that have strengthened my faith the most. In the midst of tragedy, I’ve experienced Gods presence. In the midst of loss, I’ve experienced Gods comfort and seen that God truly is with us in every moment of life. Deuteronomy 31:8 reminds us of God faithfulness. God is with us when we’re standing on top of the mountains in life. He with us in our joy and happiness! But he is also with us when we walk through the dark valleys of life. He’s with us through the nights that seem endless.
Reflection
We will all experience pain in this life. Those things can either pull us away and distance us from God, or ultimately draw us closer to God. When you find yourself in the midst of a dark night, remember that you are not alone. The God that made you is with you, loves you and will never leave you.
