When I get home at night, I speak loudly, “Hey Siri, turn on the lights,” but nothing happens. Then my wife has to remind me that Alexa controls the lights and Siri commands my phone. I cannot believe I am living in a time where I am mixing up my robot assistants. Sure enough, when I talk to Alexa and give my instruction, the darkness goes away.
I am a fan of the lights. I do not like being in dark places. I prefer sunrise to sunset because I know the light is coming. When night hits, it is just going to get darker and darker for the next few hours. God created this phenomenon because he knew things would get worse in our lives. War, disease, broken relationships, hate, fear, to name a few. Sometimes there is no hint of light; it just seems to get darker and darker as time goes on.
Read: Does The Bible Influence You Enough?
This is why people tell you to hold on through your problems because the night is always darkest before the dawn. But they don’t understand, do they? They don’t know that your wife was just diagnosed with cancer, and now your company is downsizing, and you will be out of a job. They don’t know what you have been through. It is easy to say all of this when everything around you is lit up like a Christmas tree.
Getting through the darkness
How can I get through that darkness? John 1:5 says, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. It is said that darkness does not actually exist. Darkness is not a place. All darkness is, is the absence of light. You can always turn up the lights, but you cannot turn up the darkness. If you are in a room and need it to be darker, you have to extinguish the remaining light. If you are like me, you always want God to show you what you can do to overcome the evil darkness in the world. The best answer is to let your light shine, and the darkness has to leave.
The world seems to be in a dark place right now. War, disease, hate, fear, poverty, and that is just a few of them. How can a God who loves us allow so much darkness to exist? The thing is, he doesn’t. He put you and me here to solve that problem. He sent his only son to be the light of the world. When he died, arose, and ascended into heaven, he told us that now we are the light. So if you are in a place where darkness seems to be everywhere around you, it is time to turn up the light.
So what does that look like in our everyday lives? It starts with waking up with a prayerful and thankful attitude. “Well, that’s easy for you to say, Mr. Writer, I have no idea what I am going to feed my kids today,” “I just lost my job, and the house is next. Why should I care about other people right now?” 2 Corinthians 12:9 says,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
That is how we let our light shine. We rely on God even more. We show up with a smile on our face and a servant’s heart. I am running low on gas, but I still give that person with no car a ride. I only have three meals to last me a week, but I still invite my friend over who has nothing to eat, and we make it work.
The message is that God sees you. When you pray, he hears you. He may not come when you want him, but he will be there right on time. Don’t extinguish your light when you and others need it the most. I was at Whataburger in line for 30 minutes and was about to leave when I thought of this picture, and I just couldn’t leave. That was just for a burger. Imagine how much better your reward is if you stick through the darkness and get your light going again. You will be able to see all the great rewards God has for you.
Earlier I asked how do you get rid of darkness? The best answer is to let your light shine, and the darkness has to leave. It doesn’t have a choice. Jesus is the light of the world. Say this every morning and every night. Feed it to your soul, and everything will become a lot clearer.
Prescott Williamson is a Bible-believing Christian. He is a husband, a father, and someone who believes that there is a little humor to be found in whatever situation God sends your way. He was born in the small islands of the Bahamas but now lives in the Suburbs of Fort Worth Texas, which is basically the same thing. He enjoys TV, reading, blogging and serving in his church (especially on the days they serve donuts). You can see what I have been thinking about lately on my blog www.prescottascoolbreeze.com.
