Are you afraid of the dark?

Why do bad things always seem to happen in the dark?  We have nightmares in the dark.  Our mind takes us down paths we don’t want to travel in the dark. We begin to imagine all sorts of bad things in the dark.

The dark is the enemy’s playground.  He thrives there.  From the moment the sun starts to set, he gets excited.  His number one toy he brings out to play with is fear.  Fear wakes us up at night and keeps us from going back to sleep.  We need to remember 1 John 4:18,

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”

So how do we gain perfect love?  Easy, we only need to receive it.  God is the source of perfect love [1 John 4:8, 16]. He longs to lavish us with His love in such a way that we’re saturated and will not fall subject to the ploy of the enemy. This takes time, dedicated time, with the Lord each day to fill our tank [Mark 1:35].

We’re like cars that have a love tank large enough to get us through a day.  We need to pull up to the Lord each day to be refilled so we can get where He intends for us to go without delay. When we do, we are able to keep fear at bay.  When we feel fear trying to creep into our lives, we need to run to the source of love.  He will drive the fear away and replace it with perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3 says,

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.

Martin Luther was said to have had many enemies who wished him harm and some who even wanted him dead.  A story is told of how one night he woke to noises in his room. He lit a candle and checked the doors to see if they were locked.  As he turned to go back to bed, he saw the devil himself seated in a chair with a wicked smile on his face.  Luther is reported as saying,

Oh, it’s only you.”

Then he blew out the candle and went back to sleep.

Now we don’t know for certain if this story is truth or legend, but either way, it demonstrates the peace the Lord can and will generate for us if we will seek it.

Do you fear the dark? Or something that comes out at night? Cling to Psalm 27:1 which declares,

The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?