When you awake in the middle of the night, what kind of thoughts do you have? Are they positive and uplifting? For me, there is often some intersection and processing of dreams, fear, and negativity. There is both literal and metaphorical darkness in the night, but in the morning it nearly always seems to disappear. Is this true for you?
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5b NLT)
Do you recall the first recorded words spoken by our intentional, all-knowing God?
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
He created the heavens and the earth and then turned on the lights. I presume this is the creation of the sun, the burning star with a mass 330,000 times greater than Earth and approximately 93 million miles from us. God spoke it, and it happened. What an awesome and powerful God we have… Forgive me Lord for underestimating you… You created the heavens and the earth, and everything that sustains us because you love us and you seek relationship with us. Thank you God.
Choices
Jesus tells us that he is the light of the world and that we must not talk in darkness. What did he mean by this?
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Some thoughts comparing walking in darkness to walking in the light:
| Walking in darkness | Walking in the light |
| Remaining in sin. Guilt, shame, fear of getting caught. | Fleeing from sin brings us to the light but when we do sin: Repentance, forgiveness, cleansing. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 5) |
| Physical and/or emotional pain. While this may not be something we have brought upon ourselves, pain alters our perception. Living in pain without God brings darkness.
To whom do you cry out to? |
Facing our pain (instead of trying to hide from it), walking through our pain. Trusting God. He is the great healer. There are many verses on his healing, here’s one: Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, (Exodus 23:25) |
| Fear. Nothing kills our joy like fear. Choosing fear places us in a cloud of darkness. | Facing our fears. There are scary things out there but we have a God who is for us and above all things! The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6) |
We cannot control this world. We cannot control all of our circumstances. Our broken and sinful world brings darkness and things beyond our control but we are in control of our response. We have choices. We are given free will. We have a God who defeated the darkness and because of this we can walk in the light today and for eternity!
And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)