This Is How You Can Face the Darkness

[This Is How You Can Face the Darkness]( Current Teaching Series [A Faith That Works When Life Doesn't – Part 2]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [This Is How You Can Face the Darkness]( By Kay Warren — 09/04/2020 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3 (NIV) We long to be known, and one of the first ways we are known is by our name. God says, “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3 NIV). God is personal, and he calls you by name. There is nothing more intimate than being fully known—all of your weirdness and weaknesses, what makes you laugh and cry, your fears, hopes, and dreams. No one will fully know you on earth, but God does. He’s the only one who sees through the layers of your personality to the core of your being. The God who calls you by name has hidden riches in your suffering and darkness. He can intervene in your darkness, and he will be close to you in that darkness. This should lead you to praise him. What we know about God leads us to worship. When Job lost everything that mattered to him, he worshiped because of what he knew to be true about God: “Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother, and naked I will return. The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away! May the name of the Lord be praised’” (Job 1:20-21 GW). Even as Job lost everything, what he knew about God caused him to fall on his face and say, “God, I don’t know what’s going on, but I understand you’ve given and you’ve taken away, and I praise your name.” Worship itself is a treasure in the darkness. Even in pain, you can know that he is a good and loving God. He knows you by name and notices every detail of your life. He is in control. And he has a plan for your life. You must be open to the possibility that God has gold and diamonds hidden in secret places and be ready to receive and embrace these treasures as he shows them to you. Whether he intervenes or not, you can know he is the intimate, personal God who will be close as you walk through the darkness. This is how you face the darkness and find hope. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What has the Lord allowed to be taken from you? How did you respond? - Do you look at opportunities to worship God as treasures? Why or why not? - What are some other truths about who God is that cause you to worship him, even in suffering? About Kay Warren Kay Warren cofounded Saddleback Church with her husband, Rick Warren, in Lake Forest, California in 1980. After the death of her son, Matthew, who lived with serious mental illness for most of his life, she founded Saddleback’s Hope for Mental Health Initiative as a way to support individuals and family members of loved ones with mental illness and suicidal ideation. The Initiative also trains others in the faith community how to launch or expand existing mental health ministries. Kay is a board member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and is active in mental health/suicide prevention efforts in Orange County, CA. Kay is the author of Sacred Privilege: Your Life and Ministry as a Pastor's Wife, Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn't Enough, Say Yes to God: A Call to Courageous Surrender, and coauthor of Foundations, a popular systematic theology course used by churches worldwide. Her children are Amy and Josh, and Matthew (who is in heaven), and she has five grandchildren. Learn more at KayWarren.com and follow her on Facebook (KayWarrensPage) Twitter (@KayWarren1) and Instagram (@KayWarren75). The post [This Is How You Can Face the Darkness]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get Building Your Life on Values That Last Guided Experience Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( How do you discover the life you were meant to live? And how do you live it well? You base your identity and decisions on the eternal values revealed in God’s Word—and we want to help you do that by sending you Pastor Rick’s guided study book, Building Your Life on Values That Last. This beautiful, interactive resource with a soft, vegan-leather cover shows you how to lead a life of true success and significance when you build it on the foundation of God’s unchanging truth. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 9 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Building My Life on Values That Last. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: A Faith That De-escalates Conflict Message 2: A Faith That Handles Delays Patiently Message 3: Facing Darkness, Finding Hope Message 4: A Faith That Helps Me Filter What I Say Message 5: A Faith That Makes Me More Merciful and Less Judgmental Message 6: A Faith That Keeps Me Hopeful [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States