Dancing in the Dark
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)
Child of God, it’s a pleasure to dance with God in the sunshine, but if you’ve got faith and belief in Jesus Christ, you also have to learn how to dance with God in the dark. Find joy in your walk with God despite not ever having seen Him. Find joy in your walk with God despite what your living conditions are.
This text is teaching us that life is lived not in the absence of darkness. Instead, life is lived in the discipline to steward the coexistence of both joy and despair, strength and weakness, confidence and skepticism, excitement and human indifference.
You don’t have to let the dark things in life make you sacrifice your peace and your joy. You decide: I’m going to enjoy where I am because no matter where I am, I can learn how to dance in the dark. If I have to wait to dance in the light, then I’m going to enjoy dancing here in the dark. It’s not about where I dance; it’s about who I’m dancing with.
You have been graced in your faith to live a transcendent life. You are always where you are, but at the same time, you are always living above it. You are in this world, and at the same time, you are not of this world.
What looks like peril becomes an opportunity for you because God is working it together for your good. Peter really releases this truth when he defines what dancing with God in the dark really means. He says, when you dance with God, it results in inexpressible joy. This is the grace that God releases to every one of us.
Don’t focus on trying to eliminate the suffering. Don’t forget how powerful joy is to help you transcend suffering until it passes.
Keep showing up. Keep a smile on your face. Keep talking positively. Keep uttering your prayers. Keep lifting your praises. Keep showing up in worship. Keep testifying. Keep witnessing.
He is leading you toward “the end result of your faith, the salvation of your soul.”