Monday, July 22, 2013 -- Light Shining Through Darkness (1)

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light – a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.  (Isaiah 9:2 NLT)

 We admit it.  We’ve walked in darkness.  It’s no secret.  Life in addiction was filled with activities that were most often conducted down dark alleys or hidden away in darkened rooms.  Dark secrets haunted us.  When people looked into our eyes they saw darkness there.  Our lives clearly showed that a person who walks apart from God has a dark shadow over every part of their being.  The Bible calls it “the shadow of death.”  When we were in our addiction, many of our relatives and friends died.  Many of our hopes were lost.  We buried our dream of a wonderful life so long ago that we don’t even remember the location of the graveyard.

Into that deep darkness of anger, pain, and despair, God spoke hope to us, and promised us light, “A light will shine ... on those who walk in darkness.”  We began to wonder if there really could be hope for us.  We longed to know a way out of the darkness, an escape from the kind of existence that seemed more death than life.  Whether we recognized it as God’s voice or not, God tenderly called out to us to show us that way.  When we were finally desperate enough to pay attention to something other than ourselves, we noticed the longing in our heart for the light God was shining on us, and we responded to His voice.

Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.  (Luke 1:78-79 NLT)

Our Heavenly Father loves us tenderly and completely.  In His mercy He gave Jesus to die for us that we would have life.  We are lost and dead on our own.  God saw the darkness we were sitting in and gave a light to us.  Jesus is our light to a life of peace.  Jesus has all power in heaven and on earth to heal every sickness in our body, in our mind, and in our heart.  No evil demonic power can withstand Him.  For our sake, Jesus endured the sin and hate-filled violence that nailed Him to the cross.  The powers of darkness could not keep Him in death and darkness and Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus lives today and His glorious power over sin is evidence that we can overcome every experience of shame or guilt that we’ve ever known.  People like us who walked in darkness and in the shadow of death now have the testimony of that great light and power of Jesus within us.

©2013 Partners in Hope