Following the Light

When I was asked to give a devotional message to a group of
high school students, I started my presentation by reading
from the Bible about light and darkness. Then, I held up a large,
empty cardboard box and said, “There is nothing in this box, but
there is something. What is it?†After a long silence, I repeated
the question. One student said, “Air.†Another said, “God.†I affirmed that air is everywhere, and God is everywhere, but there was another answer. One student finally yelled out, “Darkness!†That was the answer I was looking for.

I said I would open the box and we would all watch where that cube of darkness would go. Would it float up to the ceiling, or sink down and bounce off the floor? Maybe it would overpower the room, engulfing us all! I slowly opened the box. What did we see? Nothing—the darkness disappeared. The light overcame it.

By definition, darkness is merely the absence of light. If someone brings a light into a dark room, the darkness doesn’t overpower the light. Rather, the whole room becomes lighter. Throughout the Bible, God is associated with light. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he starts by unveiling Jesus’ identity as the Word through whom all things were made. Then John says, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it†(John 1:4-5).

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). God sent Him to live among us, to show us what God is like, and to let Himself be put to death in our place. But Jesus could not be overcome by death or sin or any kind of evil. After three days in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead and returned to His followers! What they didn’t realize yet was that Jesus had made a way for everyone who puts their trust in Him to be forgiven. Jesus, who is the Light, defeated the darkness. And through Him, God has rescued us from darkness and brought us into His kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12-14). Darkness’ days are numbered because Jesus will get rid of all darkness when He returns. In the meantime, He sits with us and gives us hope in the darkness.

God always wins over evil. Light always wins over darkness. • Daniel Dore

• Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the darkness in your life? How might it give you hope to know that Jesus is far more powerful than any darkness?

• Is there an area of your life where you’d like God to dispel darkness?

God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 1 John 1:5b (NLT)

Read Verses:

2 Samuel 22:29; Psalm 145:18; Luke 15:1-32