How to deal with dark times | Tim Keller

Overview

The sermon explains how Christians should respond when they enter “dark times,” using Psalm 88 as the central text—especially because Psalm 88 uniquely ends without hope, with “darkness” as the final word. Keller frames this as preparation for a long “valley” after a “mountaintop” worship experience.

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Main Arguments and Analysis from Psalm 88

1. Darkness can last a long time for believers

   • Keller emphasizes that the psalmist isn’t praying as though he’s merely reacting to a short-term mood.
   • The psalm depicts both:
     • Outward circumstances (loss of friends, proximity to death)
     • Inward spiritual abandonment (feeling God is angry, rejecting him, hiding his face)
   • Key point: a Christian can remain faithful—praying daily and trusting God—yet experience no improvement for a good while.

2. Christianity is “realistic,” not a guarantee of comfort

   • Keller warns against false expectations: some believe that once they become Christians, “nothing bad” should happen.
   • He argues that Scripture—and Jesus’ teaching—reject that assumption, noting that in this world there will be trouble and believers are not “above” their master.

3. Grace is learned best in dark times

   • Keller critiques the psalmist’s prayer style, which includes interrogations and harsh statements (even potentially disrespectful ones), such as:
     • pressing God with questions about witnesses to the dead
     • describing God-like abandonment in severe terms
   • The emphasis is not that such prayer is “perfect,” but that Scripture includes room for desperate, broken prayers.
   • Keller’s conclusion: God is a God of grace who understands how people pray when they’re desperate, and God identifies with those who pray imperfectly.

4. Dark times form “greatness” (endurance, stability, and non-transactional love)

   • Keller connects Psalm 88 with Job.
   • He describes Satan’s charge in Job-like terms: people may “serve God for nothing,” implying a transactional relationship (serving God in order to receive benefits).
   • In darkness, benefits are thin or absent. If someone continues to pray, worship, love neighbors, and remain faithful anyway, it reveals love that is less self-centered and more God-centered.
   • Keller also uses an illustration from The Lord of the Rings: Samwise turning strength into “stone and steel” when hope seems to die—enduring faith becomes strength.

5. Darkness may feel absolute, but it is ultimately relative and purposeful

   • The psalmist experiences abandonment as permanent and absolute (“darkness is my closest friend”).
   • Keller argues believers know this isn’t the final reality—partly because of what we learn about the songwriter (identified as Heman), and partly because suffering can produce long-term fruit (likened to turning “coal” into “diamond” through pressure).
   • The sermon ties this to Jesus’ experience on the cross: Jesus truly experienced God-forsakenness (“My God, why have you forsaken me”), bearing the “darkness” deserved by human sin.
   • Therefore, believers should not conclude they are ultimately abandoned—Jesus bore abandonment so they would not.

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Concluding Hope (Without Denying the “No-Hope” Ending)

• Keller acknowledges Psalm 88’s bleak conclusion, but argues its inclusion in Scripture is itself a pastoral message: darkness can happen to believers and does not necessarily mean spiritual ruin.
• He concludes that while the reasons for darkness may be unknown in the moment, there is purpose, and eventually it will be made clear; darkness will be removed in the next world.

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Presenters or Contributors

• Tim Keller (preacher/sermon speaker)
• Jesus (referenced; not a presenter in the video)
• Derek Kidner (commentator cited)
• Michael Wilcock (commentator cited)