1. Read Psalm 88:1-2. What is your reaction to this passage?

Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.

-Psalm 88:1-2

2. Have you had an experience in any way like the psalmist described in the verses above? How did you get through it? Did you ask God the “Why?” question? What was His answer?

3. Have you ever held – or now hold – to the belief that "once you are a Christian, nothing bad can (or should) happen to you"?

4. In John 16:33, what is meant by "In this world you will have trouble"? Describe the trouble you face.

5. Read Psalm 88:10-12. Do you ever talk to God on an honest level like this? Is it ok to do so? Explain.

Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

-Psalm 88:10-12

6. At this point in your life, are you more egocentric (you-centered) or theocentric (God-centered)?

7. What are some specific promises that remind us that God is always with us?

8. Read Matthew 27:45-46. How does it make you feel to know that even though Jesus felt total separation from God, yet in His darkness, He did not abandon you? 

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

-Matthew 27:45-46

9. How do you feel about the prayer, “God keep me in this darkness until I have learned the lesson you are trying to teach me”?