Inside Out: A 40 Day Journey to Transforming Your HeartSample

Afraid of the Light

Children seem to learn to be afraid of the dark at quite a young age. Whether it's the boogie man, monsters under the bed, or fearing bad guys will come to get them after watching the Christmas movie, "Home Alone," children know that darkness feels unsafe. 

On the other hand, adults seem to be afraid of the light. We'd rather live in denial than look at the darkness in our hearts and admit that we need God to shine His pure, holy, convicting light into all areas of our lives. Plato wisely said, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." Why are we afraid of the light? The light exposes what we don't want to think about. We assume if we don't think about it, we won't have to deal with it.  We tell ourselves we aren't aware of any deep-rooted sin, yet we also don't want to shine God's truth and light onto our hearts to find out anything different. 1 Corinthians 4:4-5 says, "For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.  It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.  Then each one will receive his commendation from God.  For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

God knows the purposes in our hearts that we aren't even aware of.  Our conscience may be clear, but that doesn't mean we are innocent. Even if we aren't conscious of them, God will hold us accountable for not dealing with what's inside. Seth Adam Smith once said, "You cannot defeat darkness by running from it, nor can you conquer your inner demons by hiding them from the world. To defeat the darkness, you must bring it into the light." 

Ignoring our hearts doesn't protect us from His judgment or accountability. The NLT puts part of the verse this way, "For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives." God exposes the motives in our hearts. Exposure means all that is inside of us is uncovered and revealed.  In photography, exposure to light is essential to get a bright enough picture to see the details. The less exposure a photo has, the darker the image appears.  The less exposure we give God's light into our hearts, the darker our hearts will remain.  

When we choose not to fear God's light that will expose our sin, we can see more clearly how to live for God's glory.  Paul encourages us in Ephesians 5:8-14 to wake up from our denial. We need to stop acting dead and allow Christ to shine on us and through us. We cannot be a light to the world when we do not let Christ shine in us fully. "For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Sometimes we try to work on our hearts without God or others' help. But inevitably, we will always fail and feel defeated. That is because, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that." We walk in the light by openly allowing the Lord and others to expose the sin in our hearts. When we invite others to graciously hold us accountable to areas we know we need to grow in, we will have a deeper relationship with them and be more motivated to not live in denial or darkness. 1 John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Not only does walking in the light free us from the darkness, but it also creates real intimacy with others because we are fully known (all of our good and all of our bad) and fully loved without judgment. Growing in community is one of the best ways to be transformed from the inside out.  

Take a Moment:

• What seems scary about opening up to another Christian about your struggles within your heart? Why might it be worth the risk? 

• How badly do you want to live in the light so that you can experience the freedom of Christ? What is your next step to do this? 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me to walk in Your light and not live in the darkness of denial. Help me to wake up from being apathetic about areas I need to change and invite You and others to speak into these areas of my heart. Help me to know who to trust to share my deeper struggles with.  I want to live in fellowship with You and others in such a way that I feel known and loved as I am on this journey of being transformed from the inside out. Amen.