God is Light
When darkness feels heavy and thick, there is hope to find your way forward. One of the characteristics of God is light. God IS Light as we are told in 1 John 1:5 - "This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."
I have a childhood memory that illustrates how darkness can feel so threatening and scary. I often played outside with my neighbor, Julie, in Michigan. We lived in an area that had no street lights and there were plenty of dark, wooded areas surrounding our houses. Julie and I often played well after the darkness replaced the last bits of the sunset, but we stayed close to her house where there was a light shining in her backyard.
One night in particular, Julie's Mom and Dad called her in to get ready for bed and I was going to have to walk home through complete darkness that engulfed our backyard and side yard. Julie's Dad walked to the edge of their yard to watch me walk into the darkness next to the tall pine trees that lined our back and side yard. The further I walked away from Julie's house, the darker it got.
I was breathing rather fast and I was running up the big hill that led to our front yard and our front door where there were some lights shining out. I was telling myself I would be home soon but my imagination kept wandering to what awful monsters or kidnappers could be lurking in those tall pine trees to my right side. Pretty soon, something moved in the pine trees, no doubt an animal of some sort, but I screamed and ran the rest of the way up that hill as fast as my legs could carry me. Mom and Dad heard me scream and met me at the door. "What happened?!" they wanted to know.
I was feeling much better now that I was safely ensconced in the light flooding our living room but I told them that something as big as a horse started chasing me. To me, it felt that way - that something large enough to crush me was coming out of those pine trees to "get" me. In the darkness, my eyes had played tricks on me and I really thought I had seen a huge dark outline of something terrible.
Pretty soon, we received a phone call from Julie's Dad wanting to know if I was alright and if I had made it home safely. Poor guy, I gave him a real scare. After my parents told him I was fine and that it was probably just an animal (raccoon, rabbit, cat, or dog) rustling in the pine trees, he hung up and all was well.
When we experience darkness, it can play tricks on our mind and we can imagine all sorts of horrible things. The hope that we have is that when our adult lives start to feel dark and scary, we can turn to the Light of Jesus Christ. We can cry out to Him for help, for comfort, for provision, for rescue, and for protection. In the spiritual realm, when the Light of Christ resides inside the believer, we have authority over darkness.
John, one of the disciples of Jesus, described Jesus as The Light. In John 1:1-5 it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
The Apostle Paul was exhorting Timothy and the Ephesians to be imitators of God, to be loving, and to leave behind impurity, immorality, and disobedience to God. In Ephesians 5:6-7 Paul said, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light."
"God is light means" that He creates spiritual light by which His children can see the truth. If we did not have God's illumination, we would walk in darkness as the world walks. To walk in the light means to know God, seek His wisdom, understand His truth, and live in the light of His righteousness.
Ephesians 5:8-13 says, "for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light".
Whenever you are needing comfort, discernment, or joy, call to mind that God who indwells you by His Holy Spirit (if you are a believer in Jesus Christ) is your Light Who will shine upon any darkness you are experiencing. Simply ask Him for the Light to see what He wants you to see and to walk in His ways, and He will answer.
Read, out loud, this blessing found in Numbers 6 - The Aaronic Blessing: "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."