Have you ever turned off all the lights in your house and then headed down the hall to your bedroom in the pitch dark? Everyone else in the house is asleep and you are alone in the dark. You take a few steps and then you become convinced that someone or something is after you. Before you know it you are running down the hall like a nut. Your breathing is panicked and you leap into bed in terror.
No? Me neither.
Okay, actually I have done that. My poor husband has been woken from a sound sleep more than once by me jumping in bed in a panicked state.
I do not like being in dark places and it always amazes me how fast and easily I can scare myself. No one is really chasing me and yet I am convinced that something is coming out of the darkness to get me.
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14
There is no cause and effect for my fear. I know myself and so I do not watch horror movies or read scary books. No noise or movement has caused me to be afraid. Instead, I have manufactured something in my brain until it feels terrifying. Darkness does that to me.
Once I have landed in bed, where I am safe with my husband and have my back against the wall so no one can creep up on me, I giggle nervously at myself. What was I so afraid of and why did I imagine it in the first place?
I know intellectually that the darkness has been tamed. And just as importantly, I know:
DARKNESS ONLY HAS AS MUCH POWER AS I GIVE IT!
Apparently, I give it way more power than it deserves.
“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” Psalm 18:28
I remember reading an article many years ago. The author wrote that if you had a shed in your backyard with no windows and you opened the door, darkness cannot spill out. Instead light enters in the dark shed and overcomes the darkness. That brought me so much comfort. It’s an easy way to understand the power of light over darkness, of God over evil.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
So, I do feel silly every time I give power to the darkness.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8
Running down my hall away from dark monsters that aren’t really there may seem like a small thing, but what other dark things do I give power to? Am I afraid of things my God and my savior have already fought and tamed? Am I giving power to the dark things in this world when I don’t need to?
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” 1 John 1:6
I remember living on the ground floor of a very dark apartment building when I was young and newly married. One night the power went out and I crouched down in a corner silently, barely breathing. I figured if I was still and quiet the things that came out of the darkness couldn’t find me. My husband came home and was shocked to find me there. “Why didn’t you try to find a candle and some matches?” he asked me. He thought it was wise to walk around in the darkest dark I had ever seen? No, thank you!
“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:22
I have come a long way from those days. The dark isn’t quite as terrifying as it used to be. My faith has grown so much in the years that have passed. Jesus is my flashlight. He brings light into every situation I find myself in.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Now, when my active imagination gives power to creatures in the dark, I pray out loud.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5
Sure, I still look behind me at times and I use my phone flashlight to add some processed light when I’m feeling jumpy. But I also remind myself of the light that I carry with me. The light that can never be dimmed. The light that needs no batteries to power it.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
I will always dislike the darkness and perhaps that is as it should be. The light is where I want to live and I am practicing to shine even in the darkest dark.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
Isaiah 61:1
PIN THIS!
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