IN THE DARK

Before I found Jesus, I can remember years ago a dream I used to have repeatedly. I would find myself in the middle of a crossroads and the only light present came from a street light that shined dimly above. As I looked down each street I could only see a few yards, but past that nothing but darkness. There was total silence there except the low hum of the streetlight overhead. I would start to run one way, only to come out from the other and find myself in the same spot. I felt like I was looking down on myself watching myself constantly choosing the same path, getting no where, trapped in the same darkness, in the same quiet. I wanted to yell out "Try the other way!" Eventually I got so tired and felt so hopeless that I finally quit trying and then I'd sit down until I woke up. There was only enough light in my life to see where I was. I needed something brighter if I was ever to see where I needed and wanted to go.
People who find themselves at the same crossroads have three choices: 1) They can go the way they've always gone. 2) They can just stay where they're at. 3) Go a new way. There are men, women, teenagers and children all over the world who find themselves living this dream everyday of their lives. No matter how hard or how far they run they never escape that darkness. They constantly find themselves in the silence of their captivity and bondage. They need to know that to get out of the dark, they have to come into the light.

"I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight." Isaiah 42:16

There are many reasons why so many find themselves trapped at this same spot but all share the same reason why they just can't find their way out. There isn't enough "Light" to see the "Way" out. Jesus came not only to show us the way out but to proclaim that He was the Way (John 14:6). Hopelessness, Fear, Discouragement, Depression all work together to try and extinguish the light but God never intended His people to live in the shadow of these things. Jesus taught His followers and He teaches us as well that true life comes through Him and Him alone. He is the LIGHT that never fades, the LIGHT that darkness cannot hide. The Word of God proclaims:

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" 1 John 1:5

Jesus is calling out, searching the darkness, looking for the lost who can't seem to find their way out. What is it that has you trapped? Jesus wants to shine on you and through you! There is no darkness that He cannot overcome! There are no chains that He cannot break! There is no tear that He cannot take away. There is no sin that His blood cannot cover. Jesus is calling...calling you out of the darkness (Eph. 5:8) so that you can shine your light in someone else's.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven" Matthew 5:16