Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” John 8:12 (CEV)
Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and headed to the bathroom, only to stub your toe on a chair that shouldn’t be in your path? I can imagine many nodding heads! I do not turn on the light because of some flawed logic that says I am being kind to my sleeping husband. The logic is flawed because there is an even-money chance I will stumble into something and my cry will certainly awaken the neighbors as well as my husband!
Without light the plant will die. A plant needs light to convert that energy to a chemical energy that will allow the plant to grow, reproduce, etc. And a plant, if it isn’t growing, is dying.
Fear lives in darkness. [Jesus said,]Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known.3 Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3,CEV) Anything that is of satan and his little minions comes from darkness. It is where fear lives. Oh how often I have had trouble sleeping because some “thing” keeps replaying in my head? An unknown something that becomes a worry that winds and winds through me in the darkness. When I pick up my Bible and read 3-4 of God’s promises, the darkness is shattered and I rest in His assurance of His love and care.
Half light can be worse than no light. It came to me in the last year as I was studying the gospel accounts of Jesus’ temptation by satan (that is in all 4 gospels by the way!) and how satan tempted the Messiah with twisted, half-truths of Scripture. Why wouldn’t he do the same to me? It is so important that I study God’s word and not just by myself. I need to strike “iron against iron” (Proverbs 27:17) with my brothers and sisters, Believers. Many who have believed in God have been led astray because they thought every Believer they met was flawed in some way and so they chose to become a “fellowship of me and Jesus.” That was never Jesus’ plan because He knew the devil prowled around like a hungry lion looking to pick off the loners (1 Peter 5:8).
Every day I make choices between God’s way and my way or someone else’s way. Now that someone may be a well-intentioned person; it could be someone speaking what satan whispered in their ear. How do I know God’s voice? How do I know His voice from someone else, even myself?
I know my husband’s voice because I hear it every day. I have spent a lot of time with him. I will know God’s voice when I spend a lot of time listening to Him.
I also know my husband because I know his character. When I spend a lot of time with God I learn His character in His Word and in what He places in my heart.
Even when I know God’s voice and His character, daily choices can be hard. Putting God as the #1 priority means I trust Him for the rest. “Seek God’s Kingdom (do His Kingdom work first) and He will take care of everything else I need” (Matthew 6:33). Do I trust God for that? Do my daily choices reflect my trust? What choices will I make today?
Give Me Jesus written by Fernando Ortega and sung by Vince Gill
