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Spiritual Nightlight

Spiritual Nightlight

I can remember as a small child being very afraid of the dark. When bedtime came, I was always weary of some kind of monster or shadow lurking in the night. As a result of my fear (and the desire for me to sleep in my own room), my father bought me a nightlight, which he placed in the hallway of our home and left my door cracked so that it could shine into my room. I was relieved to have that sense of security, to have all my nighttime fears subside—and then I grew up.

As an adult, I now cherish the opportunity to rest in the serenity of the night, knowing that I no longer fear the darkness. Although as adults we have conquered many or our natural fears, we have to yet to acquire the strength and audacity to tackle our spiritual fears.

Of course, we know that the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power and a sound mind. But when darkness falls in our lives, it is often difficult to well up the power that we have readily available to us through the Holy Spirit.

In Exodus, when the Israelites escaped Pharaoh’s hot pursuit through the Red Sea, the angel of God led them to a place and positioned itself behind their camp, serving as a cloud of protection. When night fell, that same cloud settled between both the Israelite and Egyptian camps. For the Israelites, the cloud turned into a pillar of fire to light the camp at night, but for the Egyptians, the cloud bought more darkness and disillusionment so that they could not locate the Israelites (Exodus 14:19-20).

The Lord provided for them in a time of need both protection and light—things that the people of Israel were probably more than desperate to have. More importantly, God knew the faith of the Israelites was still in its infancy and would take generations to finally reach a point of spiritual maturation to walk into His promises.

The Lord knows when we sometimes need a spiritual nightlight. He knows all of the areas where we have yet to exercise bold faith, even if we do still have fear. Often times, it is our “baby faith” that keeps us from conquering our greatest fears and struggles. How will we ever expect to get promoted at our jobs if we are afraid of the work that awaits us in that position? In our households, God may be calling us to be better parents, to set a better example of righteousness in the home. He may be calling us to be better wives and husbands and exercise greater love and affection towards one another.

I heard a pastor once preach about being both saved and born again, as it pertains to the orientation of our faith walk. It’s easy to “get saved,” but maintaining and then growing in that faith relationship is the challenge. We can’t travel halfway on the road to destiny, or we may never finish the divine trek.

Imagine if David only defeated Goliath as teen and never walked into his position as King. Imagine if Noah never finished the ark because of its complexity. Or, if Ruth never committed herself to her mother in law, never committed her life to God and never presented herself to Boaz at the threshing floor.

We have that same boldness and power available to us even today. Thankfully, Christ, in all of His luminous splendor, can shine directly through us and on our situations to shed light on the darkened areas of our lives.

It is a stale trick of the adversary to make you think you can never do better, eat better, live healthier or have more victory in your life. It is also played out for him to keep darkness in those areas that Christ has been trying blast a light on. Maybe it’s an addiction or a secret lifestyle, something that you have been struggling with for years. We can still have victory and even triumph over the darkness. However, we have a personal responsibility to face those fears and deal with that darkness.

Ask the Lord to shine His light on that struggle, on that marriage, on those children, on that job, at that church … wherever you need Him to reveal his Glory. If you let him, he can shine that darkness right out of your life, and you can rest assured in the midnight hour knowing that “The Light of The World” has come.

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