Note: A message was not prepared yesterday due to going to the farm show.

Message summary: Today we encourage you today however dark and difficult your experience may be to look up and see the source of hope. Even in the midst of the despair of Psalm 88 we read, "But I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you" (v.13).

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"Darkness is my closest friend" (Psalm 88:18).

Yesterday my longtime friend Mark and I attended the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, the state capitol. It's an event similar to a State Fair in other states but for some reason here in Pennsylvania it’s held indoors always in the middle of winter! This is the 110th annual farm show so they've scheduled it in the winter season for over a century now. The first farm show committee deemed January as the best date for a statewide show because, at this time of the year, farmers are looking ahead to spring planting season. 

The Farm Show is a huge event with 25 acres under roof. Throughout the week some 500,000 people are expected to attend. There's something interesting to see for just about everybody unless you're really a bore! But it's not a place for wearing uncomfortable dress shoes, since you will do a lot of walking inside and out where your car may be parked a long distance from the farm show!!!

We arrived around noon and began in the food court area where I bought a bowl of mushroom bisque which was good, even though my recollection of the mushroom soup they had in the past was better with big chunks of mushrooms. Sometimes a fancy name doesn't mean a better tasting product! This food court is not like a mall food court but rather it's operated by the various growing associations in Pennsylvania such as the mushroom growers as a means of fundraising. 69% of mushrooms grown in the US are from our area. Most are grown in Chester County to our southeast and specifically a town called Kennett Square, known as "the mushroom capital of the world".

We had a good time walking through the show and will share several photos today but our daily encouragement lesson will be on the shirt that Mark wore (I share this with his permission).

It read, "Hello darkness my old friend". I teased him that's quite a message for an ambassador of light to be wearing and that it sure could be misinterpreted.

Well, it turns out, the clue is revealed in the cup of steaming hot coffee and the shirt actually refers to Mark's enjoyment of coffee and a humorous song titled "Hello Starbucks my old friend"! (to the tune of "Sounds Of Silence").

I mused on this as I started considering how living in darkness is indeed a familiar friend to many. John 3:19 states "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil".

But I came across a verse I never (to my recollection) considered before. "Darkness is my closest friend" are the final words of Psalm 88, one of the most despairing parts of the Bible. Just read it and you will see what I mean!

This Psalm candidly describes the Psalmist's own experience and is not unlike places in life where any one of us may find ourselves for a season.

In Paul Tripp's devotional (link below) he titles it "A Psalm That Has No Hope" which he calls "one of the darkest passages in all of Scripture". 

But the way the devotional ends is hopeful! "Psalm 88 is in the Bible to remind us that the circle of God’s grace is big enough to contain every experience that this broken world could throw at us. Now that is a reason for hope, even in the middle of a seemingly hopeless situation!"

Today we encourage you, however dark or difficult your experience may be, be sure to look up and see the source of hope. Even in the midst of the despair of Psalm 88 we read, "But I cry to You for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before You" (v.13).

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13