Out of the Darkness

Have you ever experienced walking into a room that is pitch black dark?  I mean so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face?  You can see nothing.   Even if it’s a room you’ve been in before, the total darkness can cause you to be disoriented – your understanding of the room just seems to vanish. You reach out your hands trying to find the light switch, you wave them around to keep yourself from running into something or tripping over something.  It’s very disconcerting.  But, even the smallest bit of light, such a tiny match or a little candle, drives that darkness away.  It will illuminate the room enough that you can find your way.

The fact is, when people are living a life without God, it’s like living in the darkness.  They may have lived that way long enough that they think they have things figured out – they think they know their way around – they think all is well.  In reality, they’re headed down a path to destruction, because they are walking in spiritual darkness and walking with the enemy – Satan.  They’ve turned their backs on the Light.  But, all they need to do, is to accept the light of Jesus into their life and He will illuminate their way.

“They are judged by this fact: The light has come into the world. But they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. Everyone who does evil hates the light. They will not come to the light, because the light will show all the bad things they have done.”  (John 3:19-20 ERV)

The man of Saul in the New Testament was a very evil man – he was definitely living in darkness.  But he had an encounter with Jesus, and this is what Jesus told him:  “‘I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’”  (Acts 26:17b-18 NLT)

Jesus is the Word of God and “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”  (John 1:4-5 NLT) 

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, your life will change forever.  You can leave the darkness of Satan behind and live in the light of God.  “You belong to the light and live in the day. We don’t live in the night or belong to the dark.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:5 CEV)

That doesn’t mean that we never slip back into the darkness (and sin), because Satan is alive and well and seeks to drag us back.  But, the Lord is always there waiting on us, shining light on that sin and drawing us back to Himself. His light is not dimmed and He never gives up on us.  

“Our enemies have no reason to gloat over us. We have fallen, but we will rise again. We are in darkness now, but the Lord will give us light.”  (Micah 7:8 GNT)

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”  (Psalms 18:28 NIV)

The best way to hold the darkness at bay and keep the light active in our life is to spend time with God on a regular basis, praying and reading the Bible – His Word.  This is what the Bible says about the importance of the Word – “Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.”  (Psalms 119:105 CEV)  His Word will guide us through all kinds of situations and help us to recognize sin for what it is and avoid it.  That lamp will dispel the darkness when it tries to drag us down.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.’”  (John 8:12 NLT)

Our nation seems to have a huge cloud of darkness hovering over it right now.  We see so much pervasive sin and evil everywhere we look.  I saw this quote that seems to describe our situation:  “The more a nation gets into darkness, the more it’s going to hate the light. The more it’s going to run from the light. And we have a generation of people who have given themselves to darkness, and they’ve embraced atheism, because it gets them away from moral responsibility to God.” Ray Comfort

It’s easy to get discouraged when we see this going on all around us.  But as Christians we have a responsibility to represent our Lord to the world as the Light that He is.  We can be that tiny match or little candle to the world. “You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful.”  (Ephesians 5:8-9 CEV)

Each day during my prayer time, I pray for our leaders and our nation.  I also pray for each of my family members by name.  I have concerns about the salvation for several of them.  I pray that God will reveal to them how they need to let any head knowledge they have about Him move to their hearts.  I believe when that heart knowledge occurs, the Light will shine on any darkness and they will accept Him into their lives.  

It’s up to us as Christians to be a light to all we encounter, reflecting Him and His love for everyone.  “In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16 ERV)  Our light can help them recognize and come out of the darkness.   

Written by Karran Martin – February 3, 2024   

[All bold emphasis is mine]