push back the darkness

"This then is the message which we have heard of him [Jesus], and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).  No darkness at all.  None.  The apostle said (wrote), that "this is the message" that Jesus delivered unto them, and to us.  That message was so important, the Son of God personally came down to deliver it to us.

How we need that message today!  How we need to believe it, live it, and cling to it!

The very first words God spoke (which we have record of), were: "Let there be light!"  In the last book of the Bible, we are given to behold that magnificently beauteous city, New Jerusalem, which needs neither the light of the sun nor of the moon ~ because, "God is the light thereof."  From beginning to the end of the Bible, God is the light that shines brilliantly throughout its pages.  Why, then, does it seem our minds are so often shrouded with clouds of darkness?

Jesus gave us the answer (in Matthew 6:22): "...if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."  What does that mean?  It means that if our 'vision' -- that is to say our thoughts, our affections, and our will -- is focused upon God, then we shall be filled with the light of what is in our vision.  That makes sense because it's simple; though, perhaps, it is not always so simple to keep that focus, when, like Peter on the water, we allow ourselves to be distracted and threatened by the winds and storm continually raging around us.

Yet, Jesus was not and is not distracted.  "I see You standing in the wind and the waves; I'm not alone: You're not invisible.  I see You standing by an empty grave..." (lyrics from a Leeland song). 

God's will is not that we stand and gaze, as it were, at His shining.  But He wants us to be radiant with that same light.  Did not Jesus say, shortly before he left the world: "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5)?  Then, on another occasion, he told his disciples: "Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14).  I love the Word of God in Isaiah 60:19-21:

" The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.  Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified."

That God may be glorified!  It does not glorify God if we are depressed and forlorn, going about -- before the world -- with our hands hung down and our minds so distracted that we miss every opportunity that comes before us, to serve God.  What kind of a witness is that?

We say we know and serve the risen Christ -- the one who conquered death!  We say he lives in us!  We say we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and have been translated into the kingdom of God's own Son.  We say our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life; that we are known and loved by all who are in heaven.  We say we are on speaking terms with the Creator and King of the Universe; that we have access to his very throne room.  We say . . . a lot of things.  But do we, really, believe the things we so boldly say?  Or, do we, in fact, even say such things?

Tomorrow morning (or this morning, as the case may be), rather than mull over in your mind so many things that weigh down your spirit; what if, instead, you stand in front of a mirror and repeat out loud the very same declarations just mentioned, above?

"I know and serve the risen Christ: the one who conquered death!  I am one of his ambassadors on earth."   "The risen Savior now lives in me!"   "I have been delivered from the power of darkness: hell has no more power over me!"   "I have been supernaturally translated -- out of this fallen world -- into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which shall never pass away!"    "My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!"    "I may be rejected in this world -- but everybody in heaven knows and loves me!"    "I am welcome in God's throne room, today and every day!"   "I will speak with God, personally, today!"   "All day long, I have the privilege to walk with Christ Jesus!"   "The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, is with me -- for ever...."

I'm going to do just that.

It's high time we push back the Darkness, brothers and sisters.  We absolutely do have the power to do that.  I have seen so many growing weary, lately.  But this is not the time for us to let down our guard.  Now, more than ever before, we need to come to the Lord for renewing.  I'm not boasting; if anything, I'm confessing my own felt need, when I say that I look to God all the day long for strength, for encouragement, for peace and joy.  And I always find what I need in him.

Times are tough, and likely to get even tougher yet.  But waaaaaaaaay better days are coming!!  We know we're in a great battle for our own soul and the souls of our loved ones.  But we should also know that Jesus is more than able and willing to give us victory every time!

Don't stop praying; pray more than ever!  Pray about everything!  God still hears; he still cares; he still answers.

"Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."  Jesus never said life in this world would be easy.  But he did say that, with him and through him, we can not only 'make it,' but we can have "joy unspeakable and full of glory" on the journey home.

God is light, and in him is no darkness . . . at all.