Darkness Is As Light

When we move from a well-lighted room into a dark room, the darkness seems especially dark to us. It is difficult to see anything. After a while, our eyes become adjusted to the darkness and we can gingerly move about the room. We also have difficulty moving from a dark room into light until our eyes become adjusted. For us, darkness poses a problem. But for God, He sees just as well in the dark as He does in the light, with the darkness is physical or spiritual.

Psalm 139:11-12 says, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as day, for darkness is as light with you.” Sometimes, we may feel like our sins are too great for God to see us. Or we may feel like the sins of those around us are too dark for God to notice us amidst the darkness. But darkness is not dark at all for God, rather it is as light to Him. He sees us and loves us wherever we are and even in our darkest hours.

Shouts of Deliverance

Have you ever felt the onslaught of trouble so much that you just wanted to cover your head in a blanket and hide from everyone and all your troubles? I sure have. Most of us have. As a child, we covered our heads when we were afraid and the desire to do so never leaves us apparently. But even as a child, if someone drew alongside us and wrap their arms around us, we started to feel a little bit better, a little stronger.

Psalm 32:7 says, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah.” God doesn’t promise that troubles will never come our way. He does promise that He will preserve us through the troubles so that we will shout praises of His deliverance.

That’s Just Who I Am

Have you ever been called out by someone for something you did wrong but responded with, “Well, that’s just who I am,” or some similar brush off? We tend to make light of our mistakes by diminishing their impacts and thereby refusing to change our behavior. The truth is that we can be changed, but only through the power of God’s Spirit within us.

II Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Before we come to Jesus Christ in faith, we are slaves to our sinful desires. But Jesus has redeemed us through His shed blood, and we are set free from those sinful desires and habits.

Too Late

Sometimes, we can miss important deadlines. Prize contests limit the time available for entry. Product rebates generally have an expiration date. The amount of time for filing legal documents is often restricted. Missing these deadlines can mean missing out on prizes, compensation, and other benefits.

II Corinthians 5:2 says, “For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” We shouldn’t delay coming to God, asking for what we need, especially when that need is to be forgiven and saved. God always listens to us, but the right time to ask is now.

Rationalize

As human beings, we have the ability to rationalize our behavior. When we are caught making any kind of mistake, we may choose to justify ourselves by making excuses or blaming someone else. Some of us become quite good at rationalizing, so good that we hardly ever feel like we have done something wrong. Others of us are so focused on our own well-being that we never feel like we have done anything wrong and we don’t need forgiveness. We feel that God’s standards do not apply to us.

Judges 17: 6, 13 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes…Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.'” We must be careful not to live as we want, ignoring God, and still expect Him to bless us. We cannot make God who we want Him to be and expect Him to give us whatever we want. Our faith is about knowing God and becoming like Him.