Isn’t it an awesome time of year when we get to change the clocks for Daylight Saving Time to begin? Yeah we lose an hour of sleep, but who cares– it’s worth it to see the sun for substantially longer periods of time every day! It makes me feel happier, enlightened, more energized… I just love it. It’s fantastic leaving the house in the morning and coming home after work while it’s still light out! Too much darkness is absolutely exhausting.
It makes me think of the exact same comparison to our spiritual lives: too much darkness is absolutely exhausting. Worse than that, it’s dangerous, spiritually draining, and distances us from the Lord. Are you in one of those periods of life where you are letting too much darkness into your life? Is there more darkness in your life than light?
As believers, the Scriptures tell us that we “were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) and we “are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” 1 Thessalonians 5:5. We have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and through salvation we are called (and able) to no longer walk in darkness. Yet we are all human, we all still fight the old nature, and unfortunately (and to our utter detriment) we still sin, and sometimes push the Lord away, choosing to walk in the ways of this world, in darkness rather than light.
Why do we choose to do such a wicked and foolish thing, when we know the light is so much better? If you had the option to not set your clock forward this past weekend, would you choose to skip it? Would you say, “Nah it’s fine, I’d rather have the darkness”? Of course not. Yet we all have periods of weakness in our lives where we do just that: given the choice between light and darkness, we choose the darkness. I have done it so many times that it’s just plain embarrassing. But God opens my eyes to my mistake each and every time.
God’s ways are about love, hope, and goodness and the enemy desires to entice us into darkness so that he can destroy us. He dangles things in front of us, deceiving us into thinking it won’t hurt us, or it’s better than walking upright, or it’s something we are missing out on. But once we give into it, it consumes us. We cannot choose sin and be unscathed. We need the Lord’s deliverance and forgiveness.
If you are compromising in your life right now, pray for the Lord’s help and strength, and ask Him to open your eyes to the errors of your ways. Pray for Him to keep a hedge around you from sin and Satan, and rely on His strength to change your course. The Lord promises us blessing and every good and wonderful thing when we choose to walk in the light and recognize sin for what it is. Allow the Lord to drive out the darkness in your life, turn away from the sins that are robbing you of a better life, and walk in the light.