“‘Cause even in the dark, you can still see the light.”

-Matt Maher (“Hold Us Together”)

John 8:12

 Like a lot of children, I was afraid of the dark as a child. This was mostly due to the obscurity that comes with darkness-- the things that I thought were there that I could not see. Of course, there was nothing that was there that wasn’t there in the light, but I didn’t know that. Even as an adult, I had to train myself to deal in that logic. Darkness is often equated with evil- with something bad- and this is understandable because it takes away our ability to see, which engenders fear.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” The way that we combat darkness and the inability to see is by turning on or activating light. The same is true with Jesus Christ. He is the light that we activate in our lives to drive out the darkness. I have experienced dark times in the past where I literally could see the evil lurking in the dark places. But I made the decision to cling to the words of Jesus Himself in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The darkness that I was experiencing was neither permanent nor was detrimental. David said that although he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil. The darkness would not be forever and it would not harm me.

I’m not a scientist, but some scientific facts fascinate me, one being the speed of light. According to my very brief research, I found that it travels at 299,792,458 meters per second. The interesting thing here is that darkness basically travels at the same speed, because as soon as you turn off the light, darkness returns. Darkness is the absence of light. To me, this simply accents my intense need to constantly walk in the light of Christ. In John 1:1-5, the Word says, “In the beginning was the Word, as the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Light confounds darkness so that it must flee; it cannot stay.

Being captive in the darkness is frustrating, stifling, and frankly, very dangerous spiritually. I know from experience. When it’s dark, you cannot see around you; you cannot see what’s coming and you cannot see what you’re about to trip over. This is what spiritual darkness is like: the enemy will throw everything at you to distract you and destroy you, but you cannot see it. Being in constant communion with God and His Holy Spirit will combat the darkness of the enemy. The Word is the light. Jesus is the Light. There is something liberating about being in the light. When you can see, you can be free.

Prayer for Release: Father God, You are my Light! You are my source of comfort when I cannot see. I praise You for releasing me from the captivity of spiritual darkness and giving me Your precious Holy Spirit as my guide.