Let There Be Light
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Originally published June 1, 2015
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. And God saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from darkness.”
In an article James Robison writes, "Light and darkness are still separated in the physical realm and in the invisible realm of the Spirit, which affects everything on this planet. The invisible influences the visible for good and right, or evil and wrong, and is actually the difference between life and death." He goes on to explain that the more darkness prevails, the more we stumble around in that darkness over problems and one another. He says the answer is to, "Let there be light."
When light enters darkness it is no longer dark. The light illuminates the darkness so that we are able to see what it is we are stumbling over. The light shows us what the problem is. We then have a decision to make. We can choose to extinguish the light or we can choose to take a good look at the situation.
Why would anyone extinguish the light and choose to remain in darkness? Because the light reveals the problem which empowers us to do something about what we can now see. It removes our victim mentality and takes away our excuse to stay in the dark. The light requires change. We can become accustomed to the dark and comfortable there. I'm reminded of a great analogy of a baby in the womb. The womb is safe, warm, and comfortable where all the baby's needs are met. As far as the baby is concerned this is great, but there is so much more life outside the womb that he is unaware of. Outside the womb are the awaiting parents he will meet, look into their eyes, and feel the embrace of both mom and dad. He will feel soft kisses on his head and tears of joy as they fall on his cheek simply because of his existence. There are so many tastes like warm milk and the sensation of a full belly as he drifts off to sleep in the arms of his mother. There are smells, sounds, and beauty to experience that are so far beyond the dark warm comfortable walls of the womb. Experiences like a belly laugh as his daddy throws him up in the air and catches him, learning to walk, run, ride a bike, catch lightening bugs, build sand castles and feel the sand in his toes. Learning to read, share with his sister, play a musical intrument and sing. He would miss out on relationships with siblings, grandparents, friends, and cousins, and this list of life barely scratches the surface.
In order to truly experience all he was meant to experience and become the person he was intended to become, he must go through the difficult birthing process. Like the baby, we have to decide what life we will choose. Will we choose the familiarity of the darkness and miss out on a life of really living? Or will we allow the "Light of the world" (Jesus), to illuminate the way out of our individual darkness? Because God has given us the gift of free will he will never force us out of our darkness, but he invites us and promises to be our strength. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” (2 Corinthians 12:9a) This verse reminds of Isaiah 55:8-9, “'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" To us it is counter intuitive that surrender results in strength, but as He said, His ways are higher than our ways. Surrender requires humility and that can be difficult, but if I want pickles on my burger and I can't get the lid off, I have to surrender the jar to someone stronger or go without. Humility is a wise choice, self sufficiency is a stubborn prideful choice that results in a lonley life in the dark closet of "self preservation", with no pickles on my burger!
We are all in need of recovery and healing. None of us will reach that place of perfection in this world, but we can begin or continue on the road to recovery and enjoy a life of abundant love, relationship, achievement and success. We can leave a legacy of wholeness for our children and grandchildren. We don't have to stay in the dark just because it's all we know or feel safe with. That feeling is an illusion of safety set up by Satan to keep us stuck and miserable. It really does lead to a life of simply surviving one day at a time when what God intends for us is love, laughter, purpose, freedom, success, and adventure in relationship with Him.
What is it you are allowing to keep you in the dark? Anything I write about is first for me. It's God answering my prayer and helping me process my struggle. All of life, including our faith life is full of ups and downs, peaks and valleys. I've been hiding in the dark and God is calling me out and illuminating the way. If you think about it fear is the root of all hiding. Fear of being hurt again keeps us from trusting others, fear of rejection keeps us from trying again, fear of failure turns us into workaholics, fear of intimacy keeps us locked up in lonliness. The truth is we are all created for greatness with a purpose to bless this world with. Don't we all have a desire to know that we exist for a reason? Don't we all long for a place of belonging a place we're accepted? The real answer is only found in Jesus. Not in another relationship, another title, another bottle, candy bar, house, car, number on a scale, or religious act of performance. The answer is HIM and nothing else will ever fully satisfy. I am refusing the darkness and stepping into the light as He illuminates the way out. I'll fail, I'll run back at times when I get my focus off Jesus, but He will reach out again and I'll get back out there further along than when I started and so will you all by His grace!