You Have to Be in the Dark to See the Light
After my experience of seeing the sunrise a few weeks ago with my daughter, we’ve tried several times to catch another beautiful one. We were outside this morning looking up at the predawn sky, and I noticed one bright star shining radiantly above us. As the sky began to lighten, I kept watching that one star. The sun was almost up and the sky was beginning to fill itself of the day’s new rays when I realized something. The star I had been watching was still there. It hadn’t moved or changed, but as the daylight around me grew I could no longer see its light. When everything around me was still dim, the star’s light was shining the brightest. However, as the sun’s rays grew brighter in the sky, the star’s light seemed to disappear. That’s when it hit me. The star’s light is still shinning, completely undaunted by the sun, however, it’s brightness and power become indistinguishable to me when it’s engulfed by more light.
In Matthew 5:14-16 when Jesus says:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
God is calling us to go into the darkness; not stay in the light. We do not light our lamps to illuminate a sunny day. We light them once the darkness comes. It’s in the darkness that our light is needed the most. If God is calling us to be light in the dark places, how do we do that?
First, it means the only way we can BE light is to have a relationship with THE light. John 8:12, says, “Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.” We must have Jesus in our life and have a relationship with Him first. If we have His light in us, only then do we have the power to shine THE light in dark places.
Second, it means we must have the courage it takes to walk boldly into the dark places so that THE light can shine through us and give life to those who are there. It’s easy to stay in the brightness of other Christians and be light to those who are like us; being nice, kind, thoughtful, encouraging, helpful to others who are our friends-people who would do the same for us if given the chance. But that’s not what God is calling us to do. He isn’t commanding us to shine our light in the light of day among other believers, but to go out in the darkness..where there is no light and shine His light there. He’s calling us to walk out of our comfort zone and bring life to those still living without it.
Levi Lusko in his book, Through the eyes of a Lion, says,
“There is a calling on your life. A great, BIG, God-sized calling. God has plans for you and has been dreaming about them since before you were even born. You are destined for impact….There are things God intends for you to accomplish that no one else has been chosen for. Words he wants you to speak. Actions that speak louder than words. And through it all, he wants you to leave a mark, to put a dent in the universe.”
Basically, you, have a very special, very specific role to play in God’s kingdom. You have a specific area of the darkness that he is calling you to bring your light into. To equip yourself to fulfill your role, you must spend time, daily, with Him, the light of the world, and then choose to step out and shine your specific light into the darkness that you encounter. As Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs the steps and makes them sure.” If you’re willing to allow God to use your life and your light, he WILL direct your steps to shine into the darkness where he has equipped you to go.
There are an untold number of people still living in the darkness needing your light to shine in their lives; desperate for someone who can bring them hope and point them back to Christ. Will you be like the lone star shining in the dark sky for them to see, or will you stay in the brightness of the sun and miss a chance to bring a new life into the Light of Christ?