Driving Out of Darkness

When we find ourselves driving down the dark road of anxiety it means we've taken a wrong turn--we've let our mind wander into a dark place.  It's all the old baggage we've stuffed in the back seat of our minds that is steering us in the wrong direction: regret, unforgiveness, reliving the emotions of the past, uncontrolled thoughts, temptation to revive addictive behavior,  and self-centered control issues. It's a dark drive on a dark road because there are no lights of hope on that street! The anxiety is in our heads and our senses are dulled.

But GOD knows our struggles. He is the one who will show us how to turn on our head lights -- yes, head lights -- so we can take thoughts captive and wake ourselves out of a spiritually blind, self-centered stupor. It's not safe to drive in a stupor: you tend to stumble and run into things!

The cure is to open our Bibles and ask God to make His truth and promises to shine the light on the darkness.  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105). You pray!

The moment we stop allowing ourselves to be distracted by the worldly chatter (social media) and put our eyes on the radiant road to freedom in Christ, He will open our spiritual eyes and light our way! All the safe boundaries -- just like the metallic stripes on the road -- will shine brightly. 

When we approach darkness on our travels and persevere in faith, God will shine brighter than every dark place! Every time!  "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day" (Proverbs 4:18).

If this post sounds like I'm very familiar with struggling with uncontrolled thoughts and old ways of thinking, it's because I'm speaking from personal experience. I know I'm not alone in this kind of spiritual  battle. I got to the point that this stronghold was not glorifying to my Lord, and so  I began tenaciously seeking His face daily in constant prayer and studying. I knew He would be the healer and deliverer of what I was asking. I am confident He is The One for whatever is needed. There is no one else but Jesus. Nobody can do what He can do. I've seen it countless times in my life. 

So, sure, there will be dark, rough patches of road that show up on our journey, but God does not want us to put on the brakes in spiritual darkness, so we can stay there and plan our own pity party. Why? "When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never live in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

Let's see....pity party hostess.... or a woman of God filled with the light of life in Christ?  We really do have a choice.

When Jesus finished the work His Father sent Him to do here on earth -- take on the sins of the world and totally destroy the works of the devil -- He returned to His Majestic Throne and is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. Before He left the earth He commissioned His disciples, and all who would become children of God, to carry on the work of shining His light on the earth.

These are His words: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  

Jesus will teach us how to shine...brightly. He is constantly inviting us to follow Him and will "Keep our lamp burning and turn our darkness into light." 

The closer we get to Him the more we'll shine. 

Polly💖
Matthew 5:16