Louie Giglio - Defiant Worship in the Midnight Hour
The message today is about the midnight hour. Do you know the midnight hour? We’ve been discussing worship and the core values of our house. Last week, we talked about how worship is a lifestyle; it’s everything we do. It’s not just an hour but is present in every hour. As we discussed this last week and during the core class we’ve been leading for the past few weeks on the theology of worship, we’ve talked about worship as a weapon. I want to delve more into that today because all of us will encounter the midnight hour. In fact, some of you are in the midnight hour right now. I’m not referring to the time when it’s 12:00 AM; I’m talking about that season of life when it feels dark all around you.
I was thinking of a few friends who are in the midnight hour. In the core class I recently led on the theology of worship, the very first Wednesday, a couple from our church sat in the class. The last Wednesday night they were at our church building was 33 weeks ago. They were waiting for the class to start when they received a message and a phone call. They left the gathering room to go outside at 5:15 PM and waited for more information. The news they received was about an accident involving their 29-year-old daughter, who was living in the Midwest. A few calls later, they learned on that Wednesday night in the oval of our building that their daughter had gone to heaven. Wednesdays are hard for them, but on this particular Wednesday, they said, «It’s time for us to go back to core. It’s time for us to return to the house. We’re choosing the core class on worship, and we are going.» I remember walking in that first night and seeing them sitting right there in that core class, in the midnight hour of their lives, showing up and believing that something about worship works in the midnight hour to change our lives.
I was also thinking about my friend, with whom I spent time this week, who less than two years ago lost his 18-year-old son in a violent act. He is in the midnight hour. I’m considering families in our church that are struggling—people sitting in this gathering right now who feel like the pressure is so great it’s going to annihilate them. There are people whose dreams are going up in smoke, relationships that are falling apart. There are those who had something they were counting on, but either the person they were counting on or the outcome they were waiting for has completely diverted course. People are facing internal pressure that even their closest friends don’t know about, and it feels as if the midnight hour is upon them. There are those with a diagnosis who have been up and down, experiencing hope and despair, and you just don’t know if you can take another step in the midnight hour.
I want you to know today that there is a way to navigate the midnight hour, and interestingly enough, it has a lot to do with the song of praise. It seems counterintuitive to how a person might think, but worship isn’t just what we do at high noon; it is powerful when it becomes the operational function of our lives in the darkest hours. The most encouraging thing is that if you are in the midnight hour today, you’re likely thinking, «I’m glad I’m hearing this message,» even as everyone in this gathering right now is thinking about someone they know who is in the midnight hour. You might even text them if they’re not already here, saying they’ve got to listen to this message.
In the midnight hour, the most important thing to understand is that God is present in the midnight hour. The reason we’re gathered in church today is that the whole earth experienced a midnight hour. God didn’t come into a happy celebration to say, «Wow, I know life is perfect, and everything is just right; Jesus will be the cherry on top.» No, God entered a world that was falling apart—a world broken down and lost on a dead-end street with no hope. God spoke. This is why we are here today: because God comes into the midnight hour.
The prophet Isaiah even prophesied about Jesus, stating, «The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me» (Isaiah 61). These words were chosen by Jesus to announce his ministry on earth: «The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.»
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. The poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, the prisoner, the mourner, the grieving, the pile of ashes, and those in despair will be those the Lord plants for his glory. He then says that they will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated. When Jesus took on these words and proclaimed them, he was saying, «I’ve come into the midnight hour to bring hope to the darkest place of all.» He didn’t say, «Hey, it looks like everything’s going great for you, and all your plans are coming to fruition, so I’ve just come to bless that.» Instead, he said, «I came into a broken mess, on a dead-end street with no way out, declaring, 'I’m going to change everything. I have the power to change your story, even in the darkest hour.'»
You need to know that God is in your midnight hour, and if you don’t realize that, the midnight hour has the power to extinguish your faith altogether. When we’re in that dark place, a couple of things happen. I’ve said this many times at our church, but I can’t say it enough: often, when we’re facing challenges, all we see is the problem. We see the death, the brokenness, the pain, the injustice, the things that went wrong, the ashes. If we’re not careful, the problem can become so prevalent in our thinking and vision that it blocks out our view of God, hindering our ability to see His goodness. In such moments, worship feels impossible; we may question if God is even aware of us, if he knows us, can see us, or exists at all. You can trace many people’s stories back several years, and they will tell you they haven’t been to church in x amount of time. When they do, they explain that the moment they walked out the door and did not return was when something deeply painful and tragic happened in their lives, extinguishing their perception of God.
That’s why it’s essential that we gather in the house of God. The midnight hour is coming; it has already come for some of us in this room. Amen? Some of us are experiencing it right now, and the midnight hour will return again for everyone in this room. In those moments, darkness can extinguish our understanding of God if that understanding is merely attending church occasionally, having a couple of different versions of the Bible at home, or deriving confidence from family members who were believers. Those kinds of beliefs don’t hold weight when faced with darkness. When gloom descends, we may not have sufficient strength or maturity to stand firm in our faith, leading to a perception of God that is easily obliterated by pain.
We do, however, have a choice, and that’s what we’re discussing today. It’s not about denying the reality of the pain or belittling it; it is about transforming our perspective. That’s what worship entails. It’s about acknowledging that there is a problem but choosing to place God in view and seeing the problem through our understanding of God’s character instead of viewing God through the lens of the problem’s nature. We should view the issue through the framework of God’s faithfulness, a God who came to this earth and died in the midnight hour so that we could be alive and inherit a relationship with Him, re-centered in a compelling narrative from an almighty God. Therefore, I choose a fresh perspective: seeing God first and then everything else through the lens of who I know Him to be. When that happens, things can begin to change in our lives. Worship becomes a weapon in the midnight hour.
I want to pause here to see if anyone would like to applaud that. I know someone wants to say amen because this is real. I’ve shared my story many times, but I’m not here merely to preach theory; I stand here today because a song of praise led me out of the midnight hour. This isn’t simplification; it requires stepping into a new perspective which demands a few things.
First, to change the midnight hour, we need a posture of surrender. This is what we learned in the theology of worship class. In 2 Chronicles 20, we revisit a well-known story of Jehoshaphat and the people of God, who faced three armies: the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Meunites. You may have heard the phrase, «If it’s not one thing, it’s another.» In this case, it was indeed one thing after another. The word reached Jehoshaphat that three armies were deciding to team up against them and were approaching. If you were Jehoshaphat receiving this news, what would you do? Suppose you just got a troubling call from the doctor, experienced a relationship collapse, faced a financial crisis you didn’t see coming—all on the same day. You find yourself in the same position that Jehoshaphat faced.
It says in 2 Chronicles 20:3 that he was alarmed, and, appropriately so. If you feel alarmed in your midnight hour, don’t perceive that as failure in your faith. Instead, he sought the Lord and declared a fast over Judah. Eventually, he stood to speak to the people. Jumping to verse 12, he prayed, saying, «We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.» All the men of Judah, with their wives, children, and little ones, stood there before the Lord.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, and he said in verse 15, «Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem; this is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march down against them. They will be climbing up by the paths of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'»
Imagine being the prophet receiving this word in such a moment! That’s a drop-the-mic proclamation! In a moment of darkness, someone arrives with a word of hope. But look at the response; that’s where you and I come in. In verse 18, Jehoshaphat, hearing this word of God’s deliverance and power, bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. The first posture in the midnight hour, upon hearing God’s delivering power, is to bow down. For me, that begs the question: when was the last time any of us were face down on the ground?
That stance represents surrender, signifying that we have no other options. Instead of fixating on the adversary, the situation, or the pain, we should lay our faces down, so we cannot see anything in the natural. In that position, we can only perceive God in our hearts and believe once more that there is a God in heaven greater than everything we are facing. God is calling you to this posture, which is often the last thing we do. It should, however, be the first response to our struggles. God isn’t asking you to flex your strength if you’re in a midnight hour; He’s merely stating that you should surrender right where you are.
In essence, just as Jehoshaphat said, «I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you,» we need to admit our lack of solutions and, in that surrender, signify that our hope is in God. Afterward, the Levites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a loud voice. Hope emerged from surrender, and then worship followed. Can I remind you that there were three armies coming? We might think we don’t have time to surrender or fall on our faces, let alone stand up and praise the Lord with a loud voice. Yet Jehoshaphat intuitively understood that worship is a weapon and that worship saves your life in the midnight hour.
So early in the morning, they set out for the desert of Tekoa. As they began, Jehoshaphat stood and addressed the people, repeating the word he had received: «Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets, and you will be successful.» After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise Him for the splendor of His holiness. These men went out ahead of the army singing, «Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.»
We’ll revisit this at the end, but they engaged in battle; they didn’t sit back claiming, «We’ll just worship over here.» They prepared for an impending battle while leading the forefront with praise. They weren’t singing a complex song, nor were they singing something fierce; they sang a simple song: «Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.»
You know the story: they arrived at the hill, and their enemies had become confused and destroyed one another. Worship became a weapon for the people. It began with a posture of surrender and ended with the power of a song. The third thing you need to recognize about the midnight hour is that worship invites God into that time. The psalmist states in Psalm 22:3 that the Lord is enthroned on the praises of Israel, meaning God inhabits the praises of His people. Worship is like a magnet; God is omnipresent but responds to heartfelt worship, especially during dark hours.
If you want God to enter and dwell in the midnight hour, build Him a throne of praise, and He will come and sit on it. He often moves toward the sacrifice of praise. He responds to confident worship, and when He hears complaining, it causes Him to withdraw. The moment He hears worship, especially in situations where you cannot see the reason but trust in His goodness because of His past actions—that ignites God to enter your situation. We observe this throughout scripture, but nowhere is it clearer than in Acts 16 with Paul and Silas in prison.
It describes that about midnight, despite their torment and mistreatment, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. They chose not to allow the prison to define their view of God; rather, they allowed God to define the prison. They had been unjustly accused, beaten, and thrown into the darkest part of jail, in stocks with their hands and feet restrained. They could have easily complained, grumbled, or retaliated. But instead, in their moment of despair, they sang praises to God. I wonder what they sang; it might have been a gentle, «Hallelujah in the presence of my enemies.» Regardless, when they sang, they built a throne, and God came to sit upon it.
When did God respond? The text notes that a violent earthquake suddenly shook the prison, and all the doors swung open. Their praise acted as a weapon, creating a supernatural shift. Habakkuk 2 presents a defiant form of worship where he cries out for God to act in his day.
Even in confusing circumstances, he maintains a posture of faith: «Even if there are no grapes on the vine, no crops in the field, no cattle in the stalls; yet will I praise you, and I will trust the Lord.» This defiance declares that even in personal darkness, God is still good. Your declarations of faith in the midnight hour will resonate and disturb the demonic forces; they will not go unnoticed. It garners the attention of those around you as well.
Acts 16 highlights that Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and that «the other prisoners were listening.» Their praise, although quiet, impacted everyone in the room; it prompted them to wonder who was being sung about. You and I need to understand that when we choose to worship amid despair and uncertainty, those in our circles are attentively listening.
The midnight hour is a moment where God’s sovereignty can shine through. Although the circumstances for Paul and Silas didn’t change immediately, their circumstances ultimately did, and God freed them. Their praise transformed them and positively impacted others as well. If you are in the midnight hour today, what should you do? Start by getting on your face and surrendering before God; even in your pain, declare your hope in Him.
Secondly, get a Jehoshaphat in your life; find that voice that says, «Listen to me, God is with you!» Focus on trusted voices that will remind you of God’s goodness and fight any negativity coming from those around you.
Thirdly, fix your eyes on Jesus. It’s easy to be consumed by the darkness, but as Jehoshaphat declared, «I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you,» you must find a perspective centered on hope.
Finally, lead with a song. You don’t need a complex musical score; you just need a phrase, a verse, or a chorus reflecting hope that you can cling to in every moment. You need it when you rise and when you sleep, when you’re driving and in conversations. Hold on to that song, and utilize it to access the empowering moments He desires to offer in your journey.
Bring your song, even if you’re not a great singer. God desires your heart, not a performance. The men sang, «Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.» They were not part of a worship team. They just had faith. Trust that faith moves the heart of God, and that you can experience transformative change when you lead with worship and show up for what God is doing.
If you bring your song of praise to your midnight hour, I promise you that God will direct your next steps. He will invite you into His plans and give you the quiet strength to endure. And if your life currently feels shattered, remember that He cares deeply about you. He loves you so profoundly that He entered into the midnight hour for your sake. You are not alone. Keep your eyes on Him, do not lose hope, and invite His light into the darkness, for it will guide you.