“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:5

In the house I grew up in, my bedroom was not far from the bathroom.  Every night, when mom and dad turned off my bedroom light and the hall light, it was really dark.   And, like clockwork, I would call out for them to turn on the bathroom light and leave the door cracked.  It would give off just enough light to shine the way for me to see a path to the restroom or to my parent’s room.

Years ago my husband and I went to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.  The guide led us down through the caves where there was an ample amount of lights along the sides so that everyone could see to walk safely through the tour.  At one point, the guide informed the group that he was going to turn the lights off for us to see just how dark the caves really were.  When the lights went off, it was the darkest place I had ever been.  We held our hands up right in front of our face and you couldn’t see it.  The darkness was overwhelming.  It was only a couple of minutes in the dark but I was ready for the lights to be on.  As soon as the guide flipped the switch, the darkness was no longer a threat. 

There is a song by Hillsong United entitled, “Another In the Fire.”  We have sung it several times but this last time a particular phrase caught my attention.  It says, “I can see the Light in the darkness as the darkness bows to Him.”  When singing those words, it was as if the past seven months with all the events of the pandemic, the hatred, the riots, the fear, the evil, and all that the darkness brings began to flash before my eyes.  But just as quick as the darkness scrolled before me, the Light appeared and in an instant the darkness vanished.

Just like in the caves, the evil and darkness of this world is overwhelming and consuming.  The enemy wants us to lose sight of the Light and hope we have in Jesus and stay in the dark where all we can see is what is right in front of us.  The danger is that our spiritual sight becomes accustomed to the dark and we get stuck-accepting the darkness as the norm. 

In I John 1:5, it says, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:  God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 

My bathroom light gave me exactly what I needed to have a path to see clearly down the hall in spite of the darkness.  The hope is this:  the darkness doesn’t win unless we allow it!  God is light.  If we keep our eyes, our minds, and our hearts fixed on the Light, the One that is all powerful, we will see the darkness of this world diminish-bowing to the Light of His love and it will shine ever so brightly to show us the way.