You know what makes the enemy madder than Jesus being the chosen son of God?
You believing that He is.
Yep, you heard it right. You believing in our three in one God makes the enemy MAD.
The dark forces against us tremble when they know that we choose light. The light and love of Christ are the ultimate power source and will demolish darkness if we choose to believe. I’ve seen it first hand.
The light of Christ has;
Turned anxiety into peace.
Healed the hurt.
Revived the dying.
Broke chains.
Changed names.
Forgiven and restored.
Do you hear and feel what I’m saying?
Jesus made it simple for a reason. “Follow me”, He said.
Simple doesn’t mean easy. Simple makes it easier to understand. The choice to follow the light of Christ can be challenging when the darkness in front of you isn’t revealing what is truly happening.
Light exposes. You see everything. Darkness hides, creeps stealthily, a void of light.
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
When we make the choice each day to choose Jesus, we begin to strengthen the power of His light with in us. That power develops into the fruits of the spirit which override whatever the enemy tries.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Am I alone in seeing this as good news?
We have a savior.
We have a counselor.
We have the Prince of Peace in our corner.
We have a good Father in Heaven.
We have a teacher to walk with us.
We have the unconditional love of Jesus available to us.
Our biggest obstacle to receiving and truly believing God’s love for us is ourselves.
We will get stuck in the weeds when we walk down a path of darkness. We will become entangled in vines we can’t see, feeling trapped, thirsty, and hungry.
Even there, tangled in the vines and hidden in the dark, Jesus is with us. He’s patiently waiting for us to ask for His help, arms wide and ready to offer a little light.
Once we can see that we are caught tangled in the dark, that is when we can make more thoughtful moves towards the path that we want.
This is not magic or teleportation. This is an intentional transformation.
A choice that begins with the belief,
“I don’t want to live this way anymore.”
Jesus and all of His angels rejoice when you decide to put in the work.
He provides the generator (His word), the living water (His spirit), and the body of His church (His people). The light of Christ will work overtime to help you get out of the dark.
So you’ve realized you might be standing in the dark, and you’re wondering, “How do I start following when I can’t see anything?”
Ask for help.
Open your hands, your heart, and your mind, and ask Jesus to be the light of your world.
Our choice to sit in the darkness without asking for a light is failure. Our choice to ask for help in the darkness is called surrender.
Failure leaves you weak, pitiful, and sad.
Surrender leaves you open and ready to receive help.
Your first few steps out of any hardship or darkness will feel shaky. The ground you’ve been walking on hasn’t been paved yet.
Putting our hope in Jesus takes time and patience, a gift that is given when we decide to accept it.
Thank God for His mercies being new everyday. I still find myself in darkness some days. This world is full of it and the enemy is crafty with how he blankets it.
Our sinful nature and fruits of the spirit I talked about before aren’t new to creation. They were written over 2,000 years ago from experience. We still struggle with the same sin today, craving the antidote that will always remain.
The light casts out darkness. My encouragement to you this week is to notice where you are in it.
Are you in a dark place? Have you been in a dark place for a long time?
Today is the perfect day to surrender, and ask for a little light. It only takes an one ember for that light to burn bright.
Jesus loves you and wants to walk with you. He’s been walking (very patiently) with me for a long time. I’m not perfect, I wander off sometimes, and I can’t see very well. It’s a good thing we can feel the light of Jesus from the inside.
Thankfully, Jesus is patient, loving, and kind. I believe with my whole heart, soul, and mind that He is with me, casting out darkness, all of the time.
The darkness in our world and in our lives has no place in the light of Christ.
My prayer for you this week is that you surrender that which darkens your life, handing it over to the keeper of love and light.
Peace and love to you, my friend.
Makenna Curtis
Local Pulse Community Writer
Holy Moments
** If you have questions, feel curious, or need additional encouragement; come find me.
IG: @__holymoments
Email: themuseumofhumanity@gmail.com
