When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 NIV

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:16-17 NIV

Darkness has had a field day

From the very beginning of creation, darkness has been a challenge. The bible says in Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. The Message translation says: “…Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness.”. In Isaiah 60:2, the bible gives further insight into the nature and intensity of this darkness: “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people…”. 

Darkness is not just some concept of astrophysics, but a reality that impacts the world and people. Darkness represents the so many evils that threaten man and our walk with God  – false doctrine, wars, malice, perversions, diseases, misfortune, abject poverty and so on.

Light overcomes darkness

God is not going to stand by and watch helplessly while his creation and plans are ravaged by darkness. God is the father of lights (James 1:17). It would be a denial of all that God is, if he was to allow darkness to operate unchecked. So, He intervenes. The second part of Isaiah 60:2 says….but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Wherever God finds darkness, He rises up to bring in His light, to make a clear distinction. Genesis 1:3-4 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

The light has come

The reign of darkness only lasts until light is introduced into the situation. The moment light comes, darkness has no choice but to give way. The bible says in John 1:5 (NLT) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. The introduction of light into our darkest situations comes when God decides it is time to favor us. At such a time the “Lord shall arise”. Psalm 102:13 (KJV) says  Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For mankind, that time came when God  sent the Lord Jesus Christ (light of the world – John 8:12) to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). This indeed fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah 9:2 (also quoted in Matthew 4:16) that “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned“.

Follow the light

When the LORD arises to favor us with his light, we must be prepared to respond by rising up to follow him accordingly.  Isaiah 60:1  says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you“. The only assurance we have of sustained triumph over darkness is in our followership of Jesus. For he said in John 8:12, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Walking in the light is a very practical thing, and involves us actively and consistently confronting darkness in our lives and those of others. Two things are required here in our response.

First, that we arise. To arise means to awake out of slumber. We read in Ephesians 5:14  This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” The King James version says; “…and Christ shall give thee light“.  It is a waste of light to shine it on someone in a state of slumber. Only people who are up and ready to go on a long walk (action) need light. If we are not ready to act on the promptings of God, then we do not need, neither should we expect his light to shine upon us.

Second, that we follow Jesus. This means that we allow ourselves to be guided and lead by the author of lights and not by impulse, traditions of men, lust, malice, greed, deception and such like. Jesus speaking in John 12:35  admonishes his disciples…”….Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you…“. As we diligently follow him, naturally his glory will be seen upon us, and we become magnets for attracting others to the light. Isaiah 60:3 (NLT)  All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. In that way, our path gets brighter and brighter unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18).

Prayer

May the LORD separate you from everything associated with darkness as you follow the Lord Jesus, and may his fervent light be seen upon you everywhere you go in the new year, in Jesus name. Amen!