Shining in the Darkness

Our world is in chaos. Some are sick, even dying, others are facing another month of unemployment, wondering how they will pay their bills. Many are isolated from those dearest to them. As summer nears, the sun shines bright and warm and the days grow longer, but the world still feels immersed in darkness.

I am reminded of the passage in Exodus 10, where God brought the plague of darkness upon the Egyptians. It was a supernatural darkness, a darkness unlike any they had experienced before. The Bible says it was "darkness which may be felt". The land was covered with "thick darkness", but notice the difference between the Israelites' homes and the homes of the Egyptians:

"They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings"

Exodus 10:23 

The world around them was dark, the people isolated and afraid, yet the darkness couldn't touch God's people. 

This may seem like a dark time to those around us, but in reality, the light of God's goodness, sovereignty, love, mercy, and every other attribute of God is still shining, for God does not change. He is not hindered by any part of our current crisis. He is still at work, still powerful, still loving.

"If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee."

Psalm 139:11-12 

Nothing --not even the darkness of a world thrown into crisis-- can come between us and the love of God. As Romans 8:38-39 states,

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

When the world looks dark to you, look to Christ, for He is the Light of the world. In fact, I John 1:5 says, 

"This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

It is only in our relationship with God that we can keep the darkness at bay. While others wallow in hopelessness and depression, we can confidently live in hope, joy, and the certainty that God will use all this for good. After all, in God there is "no darkness at all".

But we aren't just supposed to keep this light to ourselves. Unlike the Israelites so long ago, we are not just to enjoy the light, but to shine it into the lives of others. In Matthew 5:16 Jesus commands us:

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The darker the world seems to those around us, the more they realize their need of the light, and the more opportunity there is for radiating the light of Christ into the darkness of those around us.

So how does God want you to shine your light into someone's darkness today?