When I say darkness, what do you think of? What images are stirred in your mind? Can you feel the darkness? Can you taste it? Smell it? I want you to close your eyes and picture darkness.
Now, picture YOUR darkness? Was it that depression you experienced some time ago? Was it the loss of a loved one? Was it drowning in addiction? Take a moment and let it bring forth emotion and senses. Let it resonate within your being. When you’re ready, open your eyes and continue reading.
We enter into being a human being in darkness. We were created and formed in our mother’s womb. I don’t know about you, but I could probably make an educated guess in that the mother’s womb is pretty dark. I don’t know much about the birthing process from a baby’s perspective, but have you ever watched “Look Who’s Talking” with John Travolta and Kristie Alley (mind you it plays “I get around” by the Beach Boys)? The first movie begins with that birthing process and the directors did a fantastic job (in my view anyway) of what it would be like from the baby’s perspective.
Quick synopsis: Baby sees light at the end of the tunnel, starts to go towards it, realizes it is now leaving it’s comfort zone, has now entered a world of Light (and cold wind drafts) wants to be put back inside the mother’s womb, gets wrapped in a blanket, held by mother, and now says that it’s not so bad (I hope my memory served me right on this description. It’s been a while since I watched this movie seeing as how it was publicized in 1989.)
Well God works the same way. God shows us a glimmering light at the end of the tunnel. Whether you are seeing it for the first time or rediscovering the Light, you are still drawn towards it. Once you see that the light takes you to where you’ve never been before, you start to panic. You don’t want to be there. You don’t even know what you’re doing. You want to retreat and go back into the zone of comfort.
But that is when God wraps His loving arms around you like a blanket and holds you until you stop crying. He’ll hold you and you suddenly realize that He is comfort. There is no need to panic. There is no need to fear. Now you say, “Wow, this isn’t so bad.”
Stepping out the darkness is a giant leap of faith. Stepping out of the darkness can be uncomfortable and cause a lot of pain. We have grown custom to how we were living in that state of darkness, so moving into the light can be quite the change, but that’s what God calls us to do. He doesn’t want us to be hiding anymore. He doesn’t want our residence to be darkness. God never promised life would be easy, but He did promise that He will never leave you alone. He promises to be everything you’ll ever need. He promised that with Him you will have light. “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46).
Stepping out of the darkness and stepping into the light is like going from one dimension to the other. Living on this earth and living in the afterlife, whether it’s Heaven or hell, is stepping from dimension to the other. Our relationship with Christ has new dimensions. As God opens your eyes up to Him and He reveals more to you, you step into a new dimension of the relationship. Here is a personal story about my dimensions:
I began to notice all of the relationships I had before started changing. You see, the friends I had before I started my walk with Christ are part of one dimension. After I started my relationship with Jesus, I have entered into a new dimension. Since, I have entered this new dimension in my life and those friends are part of an old dimension, it’s hard upgrading past friends into this new life of mine. I associate it to the time I upgraded my phone. I’ll give a brief summary so as not to bore anyone.
I have an old IPhone. One day, my ITunes told me I needed to upgrade my operating system (O.S.) on the phone. I thought I had backed up all the files and information and clicked that “Yes” button to update the phone. After the update, the backup couldn’t be reloaded onto the phone because the upgrade was pretty large. I waited too long to upgrade the O.S. from the last time I did, so when I did it this time, there were about four different upgrades. I took a big jump instead of taking little baby ones. Therefore, I had to start fresh with my phone wiped clean and clearly upset that I had no contacts, no text messages, or any notes.
Now that I took that large step in my life, my stepping out of the darkness of sin and allowing Jesus to be my Light, I have met some pretty spectacular friends in this new dimension. However, I took one huge leap and didn’t move in little baby steps. Now, I feel so terrible because I feel like I am leaving my best friends from the old dimension behind. I feel like I made this huge “upgrade” and things from the backup just can’t be reloaded.
I was naïve to think that everything would just remain that same, but I quickly found out, that once you change and start walking in the Light, the old life will be left behind. That’s not to say that I no longer have communication with people from the old life, but those interactions have changed over the past few months. They are necessarily what they used to be.
A wise friend told me “pain is necessary for growth” and dimensions don’t come without pain. Yes, I traded my old life of darkness to have a new life of light, but God gave me so much more than I ever could have asked for. Because I chose to live by Ephesians 5:8, God has made me rich in His blessings and His mercies. Stepping into a new dimension with Christ will cause some necessary pain. It will make you grow. It will make you uncomfortable, but just like a mother and a new born baby, God wraps us up and gently holds us until we feel comfortable, and even then, like most mothers (especially the over protective 
God started the earth with light (Genesis 1:3). We start each day with a sunrise (and if you don’t know by now, that is Light). We open our eyes and we see light. No matter how big or small, there is always light in the darkness. You just have to train your eyes and adjust yourself so that you can see it. Jesus said that “I am a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path” (Psalm 119:105). Once you have seen the Light and experienced the Light, you will not want to go back into hiding; you will not want to go back into darkness. It’s like a craving; like an addiction. You want more of it. You want all of it!
Take the step! Don’t hide! In a world full of so much pain, so much hatred, so much sin, go and be the light that God calls you to be in this world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
BE CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT!!!!
The words of my favorite Christian rapper:
“No more living in the darkness/no more living heartless/ You’ve got that Holy Spirit dwelling inside your carcass/Your life’s been changed up, rearranged up/you’ve been reborn and you don’t have to do the same stuff! (Represent – LeCrae)
Until next time!
~ Not for my glory but for His. Not for the kingdom of this world, but for God’s Kingdom in Heaven. God be with you now and forever! ~
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