2 Corinthians 4:6
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.
I took this picture the other weekend from our front door as a storm was rolling in. It was amazing that night to stand there and watch that pillar of light shining in a blinding light right in the middle of all those dark storm clouds. It was such a sweet reminder to me of how when your life is in a middle of a storm, God remains steadfast & faithful, right there in the middle of it.
But I have also been processing it in other ways this week. In a dark, dark world, He is the light. John 8:12 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”"
When we are stuck in sin, we are stuck in darkness. Watching those clouds around the outer edge of the light spin & move was a great image of that. We circle & run from the light. We run from the light because the light exposes the evil desires that lie within our hearts. We run to the other side to try something else, anything besides the light that makes us face the depth of our own depravity apart from Jesus.
Guilty people run because deep down, they know they can't face their own guilt.
Even though we run, God, the only light, remains unmoving. Truth remains steadfast. Letting us run. Waiting for us to turn our face upon Him. Waiting for us to realize that because of His sacrifice, we don't have to carry our own guilt. Waiting for us the realize that while we deserve that wrath & guilt, that is exactly why He sent His son to die. We can't face our own guilt because if we could - we wouldn't need Jesus.
There, when we face the light we finally can be washed in His grace & mercy by the shed blood of Jesus. There we are forgiven and made righteous in His eyes. By His power, His light will then shine through us.
When His light is upon you, unrepentant people run from you. I'm talking like literally run from you. They can't talk to you. They can't look you in the eye. Have you experienced that? I have. Why do they run? Because people running from the light have hearts that are ruled by the evil one, they do his will. And when faced with God's light, satan must flee. Why? Because he is already defeated, God has already overcome & won the war. Their running is actually a sign that God is working, that the Holy Spirit is pursuing them because satan needs to remove them from the light exposure to try & save face in his defeat. Satan & people in his grip are literally not able to stand up to the face of Jesus and have any chance. Their defeat is already written. So they run so that they can continue in their blinding darkness, never having the courage to face truth that is their defeat. And they remain there until God in His great mercy, redeems them.
What then can you do? Stand in the light, and let them run. Stand firm in Him. Knowing & trusting that God will continue to pursue them in His own way and in His own time. Rejoice in the truth that the evil ruling them has already lost. Rejoice in His amazing grace that has freed you from the world of darkness, that has given you eyes to see that that was once you. Praise God for the work is is doing! Rejoice in 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
And you pray, knowing the truth found in Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. It is not a battle against the specific people. It is a battle between your Savior and the already defeated evil one. Pray that God would extend mercy to the people running. Pray that God would protect you from stumbling and falling into a place where you are running again.
And smile - because you already know who wins.
Stop running from the light and instead run to it. Run to Jesus.
