"Spiritual Darkness"

"Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand." Acts 13:11 (NIV)

Sit in a totally dark room for a little while. Make sure there is not even the slightest hint of light. After a few minutes the darkness begins to take on an entity. You begin to feel the darkness like it is an overcoat. You hold your hand in front of your face and you see nothing. If you stay even longer you will begin to feel the darkness penetrating your being. (No, Brother Gary is not going off the deep end!). The darkness begins to almost feel "alive" and you now understand the idea of being cast forever into this nothingness of darkness. Separation from God is exactly the same - for eternity. Sit for an hour in that room of total darkness and you will once again appreciate the light. Do we sometimes forget the light of Jesus Christ?

Do we therefore sometimes choose darkness? Back to the passage we find a sort of reverse miracle occurring. That is, we generally think of miracles as opening the eyes of the blind but here we find the miracle closing the eyes of one who thought he could see clearly. The Apostle Paul is confronting a wicked person and graphically demonstrating what happens if someone falls into God's judgment. Elymas was a magician or sorcerer and very evil. In verse ten Paul summarizes the evil of Elymas by saying to him, "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?" Paul had no kind words for this evil man.

In order for Elymas to see the extent of his evil he had to be made blind. He had to come to the place in his life in which he admitted defeat. The scriptures tell us that Elymas then had to be led by the hand. He could not find his way without the assistance of a helper. His professed "magic" skills stilled in complete defeat at the Word of the Lord. No person can stand against our Lord. When Elymas found himself with the hand of the Lord against him he had no place to hide or run. Without his eyesight he "groped about" and must have felt helpless. The same is true for anyone who rejects the Lord.

Now back to that dark room. Once again think about the utter darkness. Then think about a light entering the room and how the darkness immediately goes away. Regardless of how dark the room, when light enters the darkness cannot linger. The light now takes over and becomes a comfort, a guide and a source of joy. We then can look around the room and see with eyes wide open. We can find our way around because the light is there. This is a powerful and important spiritual lesson.

We too grope about in the darkness trying to find our way. We have to be led by the hand and unfortunately, we cannot always dictate who is doing the leading. We may get led astray. We may get led from dark room to dark room. Indeed, it may be a case of the blind leading the blind. That is how it is with this world and the "counselors" of this world.

However, with the light of Jesus Christ we have the Holy Spirit as our helper. We have direction in life and we refuse to return to the darkness. We can feel the warmth and brightness of the light of Jesus Christ in our life. We can know that it is real and that it is permanent. We don't have to rely upon some temporary "fix" this world has to offer. We don't have to be led by the hand because the Spirit of God lives in our heart. The light of Jesus is always real and always complete and always perfect. We don't have to stumble about drifting from idea to idea. We can rest in the total assurance of the perfect light of God Almighty.

We don't have to find a dark room to feel the darkness in this world. The enemy spreads his darkness to every corner of the globe. However, we don't have to just sit there and fear the dark. Light and darkness cannot exist in the same place. Put the light of Jesus in your path and know your steps are of God. May God continue to bless your study of His Word.

By Gary Stone

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