Darkness Can’t Control the Light

God created all things to exist with light, to be soaked in it, or at least to benefit obliquely from it. No place is this more evident than in my garden, which springs to life in sunlight but languishes in its absence (as do I).

Yet seasons of darkness come. Around October, cornfields and hay barns morph into haunted houses. It boggles my mind that people pay to be frightened and disoriented, shocked and startled by ghouls in the dark. If I want to fumble around for a path in the dark, I’ll just hang out in my garden under a new moon, thank you very much. Experiencing darkness when I long for light is more challenging than I care to admit.

Lately the darkness in this world is breathing down our necks. Hopelessness, deception, the fruit of human selfishness crowd and mute the light of truth; it’s as disorienting as a haunted attraction but with earthly and eternal life at stake. From where you stand on a given day, it can look as if our Savior, his work, and his Word are nowhere in sight, but that’s not the case, not even close. All things await the breaking forth of the Lord’s own light. God has gifted us with reminders throughout creation that darkness is a temporary condition. Each time you revel in the apricot glow of a sunrise or spy a blade of grass pushing through the soil or spot a bud bursting with multicolored radiance, God is telling you that the Light of the World is coming to illuminate all things in his full, life-giving brilliance. Even in seasons of darkness, his light—the Light of the World—shines through.

Remember that it behooves God’s adversary to keep you doubting, distracted, and ignorant of the work of God in our lives. An accurate perspective reveals what we do and don’t need to fear and how powerless man and Satan are to shut out the Light of Christ from the darkness of a broken, hurting world. John the disciple reminds us that Jesus is the light of all mankind and that no darkness is in him. Why? Darkness can’t exist where even the slightest bit of light is present.

Take a few minutes to look outdoors and notice the signs of God overcoming darkness.

Jesus, open my eyes to your light’s darkness-dispelling glory. Help me reflect your true light and the light of truth this day. Amen.