Take for example back in the book of Exodus when God was bringing all those plagues on Egypt setting up the stage for their deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh. God had just instructed Moses to stretch out his hand as the ninth plague was about to fall….the plague of darkness which fell over the land of Egypt, “darkness which may even be felt.” (10:21)
We read in vs. 22 that Moses did as instructed and that “here was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days”…so dark that they could not see one another not did anyone rise from their place for three days.
And here’s that verse I was mentioning: “But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (23)
Did you catch that?
Now go back and read the first three verses in Genesis 1 where God created the earth. It was void and without form and darkness covered the earth. And God said “let the be light…and there was light…and God separated the light from the darkness and the light was good.”
It does not say that the darkness was good. But It clearly says the light was “good”.
Then in Isaiah 60:2 we read “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people.” One translation calls it a ‘gross’ darkness, another a ‘thick’ darkness. One that can be felt it would seem. And in the same passage we read where again, God promises of a coming light.
God has this thing about light. Probably because He IS…the light. (John 8:12). And He doesn’t like His children/people to be in the dark.
I would like to think that most believers today would agree we are living in a time of great spiritual darkness…a time when they ‘call evil good and good evil’.
Truth be told, we have always lived in a time of darkness as darkness has always covered the face of the earth.
Except where there is light.
We read an interesting line in Matthew 4:16 as Jesus began His ministry…” The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”
I wonder sometimes if we can be more preoccupied with pointing out or being drawn to the darkness than walking in the light.
We tend to feed on hours of ‘dark news’ and wring our hands in despair while shaking our heads lamenting all the darkness in the world today.
I mean, Jesus Himself did say that men loved darkness more than the light and would not even come to the light. (John 3:19)
But He also advised His disciples, those who abode with Him and walked with Him, saying: “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35)
There is a lot we could unpack from that passage alone. But let me just briefly point out that ‘light is something we walk in. And it does not stay in one place…we are to walk with it. Take a look at 1 John 1:7 and 2:6.
It should be an instinctive thing for those in darkness to walk towards the light…especially if you are wanting out of the darkness. But again, according to Jesus, that is not always the case. But if we are set on following Him and abiding in Him, we would do good to keep focused on the light. Paul admonished in one place that it was simply a shame to even speak of what is done in the dark. (Eph 5:12)
We are also told in the previous passage that people in darkness don’t even know where they are going.
Would you make fun of a blind person if you saw them trying to get out of a building unaided and they kept running in to walls or falling down steps?
No, I didn’t think so.
Then why do we always feel inclined to rant and rave about people for doing the things they do, be it from seats of authority in government or who sit across from you at work…. Is it not evident that blind people don’t know or see where they are going? Or as Jesus prayed…”Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”
One other point in the passage that Jesus warns of…that ‘darkness might overtake you’.
I have actually been studying in Deut. 28 this week but then jumping all over the place from there. In vs. 45, God warned the people that disregarding His law would bring great consequences upon them. The word ‘curses’ is used a lot. He wrote: “all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep His commandments…”
Overtake you…it says. Same phrase Jesus used regarding: ‘darkness overtaking you’.
So when Paul warns in Ephesians 6 that it is not ‘flesh and blood we contend with’, rather the ‘powers of darkness’…we should probably sit up and connect some dots here.
Perhaps we will do that tomorrow. But for now, if you agree we live in times of great darkness…then abiding in the light is the best thing you could be doing right now.
And no matter how dark times get, ..God makes sure that His children have light in their dwelling.
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