I will give you the treasures of darkness
  and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
Isaiah 45:3

I know.

I talked about darkness LAST week.
But it’s still dark.
Even darker actually.
Last week, sunset was at 4:35.  This week, it’s 4:33.
I KNOW.
It’s gross.

But after we learn not to be afraid of the dark,
After we hear and know God is still with us in even the darkest darkness,
That doesn’t make the darkness go away.
It still happens.
Every day.
Sometimes the darkness is within us.
And no amount of sunlight in the sky makes it seem less…well… dark.

When darkness seems extra present,
figuratively or literally, our tendency is to turn on lights
or…
hide.

Even if we get that darkness isn’t something to be afraid of, it’s still not like we suddenly start welcoming it with open arms.
But should we?
I think there are things to discover in the dark that we cannot find in the light.

I love this verse from Isaiah.
I feel like God is whispering it to me each time I read it.

Try it:  “I will give you the treasures of darkness, the riches hidden in secret places”

Nice huh?
There is a secret to the darkness.
Things that no one gets to see or hear or feel in the light.

Chet Raymo, in his book from “The Soul of the Night” said:
“There is a tendency for us to flee from the wild silence and the wild dark, to pack up our gods and bunker down behind city walls, to turn the gods into idols, to kowtow before them and approach their precincts only in the official robes of office.  And when we are in the temples, then who will hear the voice crying in the wilderness?  Who will hear the reed shaken by the wind?”

If we are always running away from the dark stuff, are we also running away from God?
I mean, God is there, in the darkness too – remember?
And not only that, but what if there are parts of God we can’t see in the light?
What if, like the sky, darkness just makes it look different, but not less than?
AND what if, some of those dark places are how we get a complete picture of who God is?

Sheesh.
When you think about it like this, it kind of makes you want to turn off all the lights and sit in the darkness just to hear the whisper of God found there.
And you know what that whisper is going to say?  

Your name.

The whisper of God that can only be heard in the darkest places says your name.
Calls you a child of God.
Claims you as her own.
There are secret riches in the dark.
So let’s not be afraid.
God is calling.

Listen.