When someone isn’t exposed to any amount of light for an extended period of time, that person can become temporarily or even permanently blind.
Don’t worry; I didn’t draw that out of thin air. A few years ago, I took a tour with my family through the Mark Twain Caves in Missouri. They were very dark, and we had to use flashlights to see where we were going. At one point, the guide instructed everyone to turn off their flashlights. Almost instantaneously, the atmosphere became shrouded in pitch-black darkness. That’s when the guide mentioned the concept I mentioned at the beginning. It may not be scientifically proven as fact, but isn’t the concept fascinating? What I find even more fascinating is the fact that the concept can apply to our spiritual lives.
We can become dangerously accustomed to the darkness that we encounter every day that is infiltrating our schools, creeping throughout the atmosphere, and aiming at our hearts and souls. And by “darkness,” I don’t mean dark masses of demonic entities or something; while spiritual warfare is very real, I’m referring to a darkness more subtle than that. It’s the low key negative content leaking from people’s headphones, the borderline inappropriate jokes released from people’s lips, and the ‘small’ sins that we’ve become used to and perhaps too comfortable with.
Sometimes the enemy will bombard us with darkness. However, when that ceases to trap us, he changes tactics. He will subtly present us with all kinds of darkness, day after day, until we become numb to the weight of its harmful effects. It becomes… normal: something we unconsciously accept, blinded from the reasons why we should keep our distance from such things. Like any bad habit, recognizing our gradual lukewarm attitude is hard! Sometimes it can be difficult to realize how toxic the ‘little’ sins or pieces of darkness really are. I’ve struggled with it too! And you know the best cure I’ve managed to find?
Daily pursuing Christ.
Some examples are reading God’s Word, worshipping Him, and praying to Him. Even though this world is flooded with darkness (obvious and subtle), if I can fill my soul with His light, I can carry it with me. Then, whenever darkness tries to creep in, it will fail because I’ve made room for the God of light, leaving no space for darkness.
Does that mean I’m a glowing, righteous angel now? Haha, no, I’m still a human who makes mistakes, but setting aside a small portion of time for Jesus has greatly improved my day and has heightened my awareness of the subtle, sly snares that the enemy attempts to capture me with.
One last thing— and I mean this in the nicest way possible, but a busy schedule isn’t a valid excuse! I’m guilty of using that one — a lot. Yeah, I do have a boatload of homework everyday and extracurricular activities, but that doesn’t have to stifle my relationship with Christ. Everyday, right before I go to bed, I spend around 5-10 minutes reading the Bible. No matter how busy your schedule is, I pray that you have at least 5 minutes to spare; a small amount of time in His Word still makes a difference and leave us with thoughts of light rather than darkness.
Taking it one day at a time,
Janelle
