Light Overcomes Darkness
1/24/2024
Written by: Kailee Turner
I cannot stand winter. I know this is meant to be a devotion and have an uplifting message, but bear with me. I am a fall and summer girl through-and-through. One of my best friends has even compared me to a “warm, sunshiny day” before (the highest of compliments). I wouldn’t say I get seasonal depression because of my dislike for winter, but I do think I’m much older than I am during the winter months.
In other seasons, I’m not ready for bed at 6PM unless I’m REALLY sick, but when the sun sets around 5PM, I feel as if I’m 80 years old wanting to retire to bed so early in the evening. I love snow like anyone else, but my dislike of winter comes solely from the darkness associated with the colder months. Put another way, the absence of light makes me tired, moody, and sometimes uncomfortable. Regardless of winter months, how often has your own life felt “in the dark?” How do you feel when you can’t seem to “see the light?”
Light is defined as “something that illuminates,” or “to start burning, ignite.” One of my all-time favorite movies is Tangled, and I specifically love the scene where Rapunzel and Flynn are in the middle of a lake looking up at all of the floating lights, enamored with the glow and each other. It is so easy for a Disney movie to look picturesque and perfect, but what if we could be enamored with the light in our real lives despite our darkening circumstances?
My husband and I often pray to “be the light” in our workplaces and how we interact with those who may not be Christ followers. Practically, this can range from a lot of different things: sending a text of encouragement, being bold about sharing Jesus, meeting with others we find to be wiser to learn from, and so on. Regardless of the action we choose to pursue, the goal is always the same: to illuminate Christ by serving Him and allowing others to make the decision to start burning or to (re)ignite their hope in Jesus.
Now some of you reading may say, “Kailee that sounds great but my life is pure darkness right now; my life is like the winter and darkness you hate.” If that is you right now, know that I’ve been there and my heart hurts for you. I get how awful it feels to be in darkness, to feel as though there isn’t even a flicker of a candle burning.
Unfortunately I know that darkness will come again, it's inevitable. But you know what else I know? It only takes a spark to impact the darkness. As Josh said a few years ago on Christmas Eve, darkness can never outweigh the light. If an over-the-top, seemingly perfect light display like the one in Tangled is impossible for you right now, start with buying a box of matches from Dollar Tree and light one match.
Thank God for waking up and being able to breathe, even if the walls seem to be closing in on you.
Tell someone one good thing that happened in your day, something as small as “I had good coffee this morning.”
Look at your reflection in the mirror and start to shift your mindset about all your “imperfections” as beauty marks made by a perfect God.
One of the many miracles Jesus performed was healing a man born blind found in John 9. I can’t imagine how lonely and isolating it must’ve been for the blind man- to be the talk of the town and considered a result of “generational sin” all because he couldn’t see.
After Jesus heals this man, He gives him one simple command: “Go.” After doing just that, the man is questioned three different times about his healing- first from people around the town, then to the Pharisees, and then again from others around the town. At one point the townspeople even go so far as saying Jesus is a sinner, found in verse 24.
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
Sound familiar? How many times have you failed to see the light and forced blame on someone else? Instead of giving up and arguing with the others, look what the man says in verse 25:
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
I recently started the mini-series (based on a book) “All the Light we Cannot See,” which tells the seemingly-impossible story of a blind, French woman and a German soldier finding similar ground amidst France being overrun in WWII. The author of the book recalled how he knew what the title was going to be in this way,
“Ultimately, the title is intended as a suggestion that we spend too much time focused on only a small slice of the spectrum of possibility.”
Darkness can be overpowering, disorienting, and isolating, an ever-present reminder of the absence of light. Yet, the smallest of lights displaces the darkness. Jesus took a man living in complete, literal darkness and transformed his life so that he could physically see and share that God is good. Jesus has the power to do the same with your own darkness.
I saw on social media the other day that the days are slowly getting longer again, which means more time for light to push through the darkness. January has just started and winter is at its peak, but spring is slowly coming. Brighter days are ahead, the sun will rise again, and you can succeed in “being the light.” You just have to be willing to strike the match.
Extra note: This song puts into better words what I may be missing from this devotion. I encourage you to listen to it and my prayer is that it “ignites a fire in you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrEzr-rWwe8