By Chris Seidman<\/p>\n
John Cassis served as a chaplain for the Chicago Bears during some of their better years in the 80\u2019s. He tells a story about their coach, Mike Ditka, who was addressing the team in the locker room before a game. In the course of his talk, Ditka asked defensive tackle William \u201cRefrigerator\u201d Perry to lead the team in the Lord\u2019s Prayer when he was done with his comments.<\/p>\n
Jim McMahon, their outspoken quarterback, elbowed Cassis. \u201cLook at Perry,\u201d McMahon whispered, \u201che doesn\u2019t know the Lord\u2019s Prayer.\u201d Perry had beads of sweat forming on his bald head and a \u201cdeer-in-the-headlights\u201d look about him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re out of your mind. Everybody knows the Lord\u2019s Prayer!\u201d Cassis whispered to McMahon.<\/p>\n
McMahon replied, \u201cI\u2019ll bet you 50 bucks Fridge doesn\u2019t know the Lord\u2019s Prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cassis took the bet. He reflected later, \u201cHere we were sitting in chapel and betting 50 bucks on the Lord\u2019s Prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Coach Ditka finished his comments, he asked all the men to take a knee. He then nodded at Perry and bowed his head. It seemed like an eternity before the Fridge prayed these words, \u201cNow I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
Cassis felt a tap on his shoulder. It was McMahon. \u201cHere\u2019s your 50 bucks!\u201d he whispered. \u201cI had no idea Perry knew the Lord\u2019s Prayer!\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people are more in the dark than they realize.<\/p>\n
But then there are times when we\u2019re in the dark \u2013 and we know it.<\/p>\n
Maybe we\u2019re in the dark of being disillusioned with God. He didn\u2019t do what we thought He was going to do. He allowed something to happen that we never thought He would. Followers and proclaimers of Jesus aren\u2019t exempt from being in the dark of disillusionment with him. I think of the question John the Baptist asked concerning Jesus while he was in prison.(Matthew 11:1-6)<\/p>\n
Sometimes we\u2019re in the dark because of a disappointing experience with God\u2019s people. Consider the father in Mark 9 who brought his epileptic son to Jesus\u2019 disciples and to heal him and they could not. What they had done for others in the name of Jesus, they could not do for his son. The father was, understandably, shaken.<\/p>\n
Sometimes we\u2019re in the dark because of the consequences of our own sin, and sometimes we\u2019re in the dark because we are deeply affected by the sin of someone else.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not easy being in the dark when you\u2019re in ministry.<\/p>\n
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A while back I was talking with a professional athlete who belongs to our church. He was in the midst of his 12th<\/sup> NBA season. It was the morning after a game. He was walking rather stiff. I asked him if he was hurt. He said, \u201cNo, at this point in the season, most everyone at this level is playing through some kind of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Those words have bounced around in my spirit for a while. This is true when it comes to ministry over the long haul. Now there are times when we need to rest, withdraw, or retreat. We all know the importance of observing some kind of Sabbath rhythm. After all, you can\u2019t fill a moving cup.<\/p>\n But there are times in our lives when we have to \u201cplay hurt.\u201d There are stretches in life when we have to keep walking in the dark, serving in the dark, leading in the dark, or preaching in the dark (you can insert your own joke here about \u201cpreaching in the dark.\u201d)<\/p>\n In 2 Timothy 1, Paul recalls Timothy\u2019s tears, and yet in 2 Timothy 4 Paul still gives him the charge to preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season. Perhaps Paul was calling Timothy to \u201cplay through his hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve have been in ministry long enough to have gone through stretches of ministry in the dark. Sometimes the darkness has been on a church level, which I reflected upon in previous posts.<\/p>\n Sometimes the darkness has been on a family level. My parents split in my early years as a minister. Dad later died alone on his apartment floor at 52. My wife\u2019s dad died at 49 of M.S. We cared for my mother in our home until she died after a particularly brutal 2 year bout with cancer. Our middle son was diagnosed with clinical depression at 6 years of age. Our oldest son had bacterial meningitis and later MRSA and spent a summer in isolation in the hospital \u2013 with much of that summer on edge and the specialists not making any promises. I\u2019m quite sure there are some are reading this who\u2019ve walked through much more profound darkness on a family level than I have.<\/p>\n Sometimes the darkness has been on a personal level. There have seasons where God was dealing with my pride, my anxiety, my fear of what others think \u2013 all while I\u2019m standing in front of people declaring a word that\u2019s far beyond where I was living \u2013 pointing people to places with God that I was painfully aware I had never been. I was ministering while acutely aware of my own darkness.<\/p>\n So how we do we move forward serving, proclaiming, encouraging, ministering to others while in the dark ourselves?<\/p>\n Remember that throughout Scripture God Does Some Of His Most Significant Work In The Dark.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n When the Bible opens, God is at work creating in the darkness. He never says \u201cLet there be dark.\u201d There already was darkness. Jesus is conceived in the darkness of Mary\u2019s womb. His crucifixion happens in the dark. His resurrection happens in the dark of the tomb. From creation, to the incarnation, to the crucifixion, to the resurrection, God does significant work in the dark. There\u2019s not just a light at the end of the tunnel. There\u2019s a light with us in the middle of the tunnel. (For more reflection along these lines, consider checking out Barbara Brown Taylor\u2019s book Learning To Walk In The Dark)<\/p>\n Use your guide for praying in the dark<\/strong><\/p>\n The largest book in our Bible is a book of prayers. This should tell us something. God wants us to talk to Him and not just about Him. He\u2019s so intent on us engaging with Him He gives the words to say when we don\u2019t have the words. It\u2019s thought that close to two-thirds of the psalms are \u201clament\u201d or \u201cmourning\u201d psalms. They are prayers to pray when we\u2019re in the dark. Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble (John 16:33). In the psalms we find plenty of help for praying through our trouble. Jesus himself relied on a psalm to express his heart in his darkest of moments upon the cross. The psalms are here to help us pray through the dark.<\/p>\n Invest in a relationship with another minister who has done ministry while in the dark. <\/strong><\/p>\n Raising three sons has given me ample opportunity to visit emergency rooms in the wake of rough-and-tumble boys. Young fathers don\u2019t forget the first time they\u2019re asked to hold their child still while they receive stitches. Without question, the most helpful thing I did to help calm my sons down in those moments was show them the scars on my body which marked where stitches once were. I\u2019ll never forget one of my boys wanting to touch the scars even as he was receiving stitches.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something about seeing someone else\u2019s scars and hearing their stories. I\u2019ve drawn great strength from others in ministry who were graciously transparent in showing me their scars and sharing their stories of ministry while in the dark.<\/p>\n Hold On Unswervingly To Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m struck by the words of the Hebrew writer to a community walking in the dark in Hebrews 10:24, \u201cLet us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n He never promised it would be easy. He promised it would be worth it.<\/p>\n Louis L\u2019Amour wrote years ago, \u201cThere will be a time in your life when you think everything will have come to an end. And that will be the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n The story of Scripture begins with God speaking light into darkness. The darkness will not have the last word. I believe the time will come when David\u2019s words will be our words, \u201cThe Lord turns my darkness into light.\u201d (2 Samuel 22:29)<\/p>\n In the meantime, if you\u2019re ministering in the dark, I leave you with this blessing. \u201cMay the Lord direct your hearts into God\u2019s love and Christ\u2019s perseverance.\u201d (2 Thessalonians 3:5)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Chris Seidman John Cassis served as a chaplain for the Chicago Bears during some of their better years in the 80\u2019s. He tells a story about their coach, Mike Ditka, who was addressing the team in the locker room before a game. In the course of his talk, Ditka asked defensive tackle William \u201cRefrigerator\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n