God of Darkness

I've Seen God in the Darkest Places

I’ve seen You in the darkest places, too.
In strip clubs.
In the clubs of Berlin.
Online, among the internet girls.
I’ve seen You in the casinos—
At the slots,
At the tables.
I’ve seen You on the stage in Amsterdam,
And on the corners in Philadelphia.

I’ve seen You where I never thought to look.
And I found You there—
Crying.
Weeping.
Pleading with us to open our eyes—
But not to leave.

So I looked again.
And You opened my eyes to see.

Ravenous men at a dog show—
But not dogs.
Women.
Women, created in Your image.

I found You in them—
In their inexplicable beauty.

And in the men.
In the quiet dignity behind their eyes,

In the admiration for Your beauty,
Blinded by the devil’s fog.

I saw dogs barking at dogs on stage—
But with You, I saw:
Men.
And women.

Men bowed down and cried:
"Thank You, O Lord, for this beauty."
Women danced and cried:
"Thank You, O Lord, for this beauty."

Forgive us, O Lord.
We did not see Your beauty.
We took it for ourselves—
Like stray dogs.

I saw children pulling at slot machines,
Becoming mindless zombies,
Twisted by the enemy—
Wasting away all day long,
Waiting for a match.

So great is Your abundance
That we sit all day in front of it,
But blind.

They searched for glory in the spinning reels—
But not in the sunlight,
Not in the trees,
Not in each other.

It’s everywhere.

Make them see what I see, Lord.
And they will fall to their knees and cry,
"We are unworthy."

Fill them with your love,

So that we may love You together.