Light will BREAKTHROUGH darkness

During the last two weeks of 2021 when a significant surge of COVID cases suddenly changed the Christmas plans of many of us, I was led to reflect on the meaning of Christmas. Indeed, the true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus came to this world as a Light (John 8:12). As I pondered on it, I realized that if we truly see God as The Light and hold on to Him as The Light, we would never walk in darkness even if the world is going through a dark time.

 

In other words, if you have entered the new year with concerns and questions about whether we will finally get over the pandemic, know that you don’t need to reach the end of the tunnel to see light, but if you have the true source of light, you can be the light that brightens this dark tunnel.

 

Here’s why, and how…

 

God is Light

 

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.

 

John 8:12

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."

 

God invites men to walk in Light:

 

…so we may know Him

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

 

…so we may be set free from darkness

Colossians 1:13

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

 

…so we may now walk in the light

Ephesians 5:8

For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.

 

…and see where we are going

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14

I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.

 

The steps to walk in Light:

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…walk in the truth

John 3:21

But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.

 

…stay away from the darkness

2 Corinthians 6:14

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

 

…expose darkness

Ephesians 5:11

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.

 

…remove our dark deeds

Romans 13:12

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.

 

…partner with God to be a light to the nations

Isaiah 42:6

I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations.

 

…and reveal the glory of the Lord

Isaiah 60:1-2

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

 

The purpose of walking in Light:

 

...so people may see His great light

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

 

...and turn their way from darkness

Acts 26:18

To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.

 

…and guide through the way of peace

Luke 1:79

To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

…so they may also become a light

Ephesians 5:13
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself.

 

Yet, some men still chose to walk in darkness because…

 

…they love darkness

John 3:19-20

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

 

…they have never experienced the light

Job 24:16

In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.

 

…they confuse darkness with light

Isaiah 5:20

How horrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn what is bitter into something sweet and what is sweet into something bitter.

 

…they turned ways from light to darkness

Proverbs 2:13-14

These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.

 

…they are tossed between light and dark paths

1 John 1:6

If we claim that we have fellowship with him but keep living in darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.

 

…they are walking in the light, but their heart is still in darkness

1 John 2:11

But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

 

Those who walk in darkness lose their way…

 

…because they allowed darkness to overtake them

John 12:35

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.” Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.

 

…because they have no light

John 11:10

But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.

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Proverbs 4:19

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

 

…and their minds are being blinded

2 Corinthians 4:4

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

…and they refuse to know Christ

Jeremiah 9:6

“You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me," declares the LORD.

 

Consequently, the darkness of the world has grown heavier (the time we now living in)

 

Isaiah 5:30

In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. If one looks over the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be obscured by clouds.

 

Isaiah 8:22

They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.

 

Job 18:18

He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.

 

GOOD NEWS IS: God has authority over light AND darkness

 

Isaiah 45:7

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing well-being and creating calamity;

I am the Lord who does all these.

 

God's ultimate purpose is to destroy the works of darkness

 

1 John 3:8

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

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Matthew 13:41

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

 

…because light and darkness cannot coexist

Genesis 1:4

God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

 

…so darkness will ultimately being destroyed

John 1:5

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

So make sure to partner with the Light

 

Deuteronomy 30:19

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

 

Imagine the day when the world is filled only with Light; a day when darkness is totally defeated. How bright would it be? Let’s press on to this day as we continue to shine!

 

Proverbs 4:18

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

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Matthew 13:43

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!