Are you afraid of the dark? As a child I was terrified of the dark. I couldn’t stand being in a dark room because I didn’t know what was in it with me. There was no guarantee there was anything harmful there, I just couldn’t see. Not really rational, but fear none the less.
Several years ago my husband and I were youth leaders at our church. We took our youth group to a haunted house put on by Liberty University in Virginia. The haunted house depicted real life horror people could potentially face if they made poor choices. It was an attempt to challenge people to make wise choices, the most important of which was Jesus.
One of the segments in the house was a pitch black maze. A guy in our youth group was in front of me and he thought he was being cute. He announced we reached a dead end. I started having a panic attack. Fortunately for me, my husband was right behind me. I knew he loved me and wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me. Mark told the guy to get moving. When he didn’t, Mark reached around me and assisted the young man’s movement. We were out of there in no time.
I believe many of us are afraid of the dark, we just don’t admit it. I’m not talking about a dark room, I’m talking about a dark world. We’re afraid to go into dark places and reach out to others. We’re afraid of the unknown. We don’t know what’s out there so we just avoid it in order keep ourselves safe.
Jesus called us to be light in dark places.
In Matthew 5:14-16 He said,
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”]
We’re not called to remain in the comfort of Christian friendships in our Christian neighborhoods only attending Christian events. How effective would that be?
We live in a dark and fallen world that is desperate for the light of Jesus. We are to be in the world but not of the world [John 17:11, 2 Corinthians 10:3, 1 Peter 2:11, 1 John 4:4]. We can’t be a light in the darkness if we don’t go to the darkness. After all, a room with light in it doesn’t need more light to see. The light of one candle will provide enough light to lead you on your way. But a dark room is desperate for light.
Where are you allowing your light to shine? Where are you taking it? Don’t be afraid of the dark, because the moment you arrive, the darkness will be pushed back. You carry the light of Jesus wherever you go.
Just like my husband had my back, Jesus goes with us into dark places and He never leaves us there. He will step in as our protector when we need Him. So what do we have to be afraid of?
Are you willing to step into the darkness? It’s time we shine a little light on the situation.
** I will be taking the remainder of the week off to spend with family over the holiday weekend. Enjoy your Fourth of July and I’ll meet you back here on Monday, July 7th!
I love this article! Thanks for the encouragement & reminder so we Christians can stand boldly and be courageous no matter what the cost…. we fix our eyes on Jesus. To not forgot our mission and goal as we press onward and bring light into the dark places of this fallen world.
I just finished seeing the movie ‘The Whistleblower’, definitely a thriller and based on actual facts that happened which is eye opening and quite scary. Throughout the whole movie I was thinking about the main character and what drove her to become bolder and more relentless in her journey as she fought against human trafficking in Bosnia. No doubt she was a fish battling to swim up stream in this corruption. Just when I thought she was going to give in at the climax of the movie she dove heart and head first into the deep darkness, shining her light even brighter. Foolish and crazy? I think not! I was thinking the whole time what would make me do something like this….
Deliverance.
Freedom from bondage.
How Christ came to rescue us from the darkness so we rescue others & shine and light the way for others. Thank you Jesus!
Mel,
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. I appreciate all you do in this fight. God is faithful and He will give us all we need to do what He calls us to do and when we feel like we can’t go on, He shows even stronger.
Have a blessed weekend!