Flickering Light

It’s not uncommon for lights to flicker.

It’s an experience that, many times, goes completely unnoticed. You’ll be going about your business when all of a sudden, just for an instant, the light is gone.

We hardly even notice this phenomenon until it’s over because our eyes are so accustomed to existing in the light that the darkness is not much of an obstacle. Our brains are almost trained to see the light in such a way that when the darkness comes, we are unfazed. Our minds still have a clear impression and remembrance of what was happening in the light; we recognize the fact that we are not changed by the absence of light and our immediate surroundings remain the same throughout the experience.

Apply this to our lives as Christians.

Let the light be Christ, and let the times of darkness be the difficult things we deal with on a regular basis. Occasionally there are times where the light of Christ is harder to see and it feels like the darkness, the distance from God, is causing the light to flicker. The more we are in God’s Word, the more we communicate with him through prayer, the more we intentionally exist in the light, the easier the times of darkness will be to endure, because our hearts and souls will have the knowledge and memory of who God is and from whom our light shines.

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:5

This verse assures us that the light of Christ continues to shine through all the messed up aspects of our world, and there is no place for the darkness to overtake it. The dark times are still very real, and they come in many different forms– whether it’s the death of a loved one, a sin you can’t seem to kick, a lost job, a difficult home life, or any other possible scenario trying to cut off your light– be encouraged that no matter the darkness, nothing changes with the realities of the God we serve. Just like when the physical lights go out, there are always constants to rely on. Jesus is always there to deliver us. The Word of God is always there to guide us. The Holy Spirit is always there to speak to us. Our mental and spiritual focus on these constants is the key to making it through our times of emotional darkness.

Let your souls be bathed
in the light of Christ.

Let them become so used to His eternal love and peace that there will be no doubt of His presence in the dark times. My prayer for myself and anyone reading this is that our lives would be lived in and through a light so beautiful that the darkness is completely unable to even understand, let alone harm it. And I know for a fact that the only light capable of such a thing is the light of Jesus Christ.