Daily Devotion – March 19, 2020 – Pastor Erick Thompson
John 1.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Watching the news reports yesterday gave me the impression that we may be living in this new reality for a while. Schools are figuring out how to do online instruction, workplaces are doing the best they can to allow employees to work differently, and society is learning how to live at home for more than a couple days. It may feel like we’re entering into a dark time in our world, and in our lives. For many of us, darkness is a scary thing; something to be avoided. Yet, God is not afraid to work in darkness, and darkness is not necessarily a bad thing in the bible.
In Genesis, God speaks creation into the darkness, creating life and light in the process. And, we must remember, God doesn’t remove the darkness, but creates inside the darkness. In John 3, we read about how Nicodemus came to Jesus during the dark of night. Jesus uses this opportunity to proclaim one of the most memorable lines of Christianity, John 3:16. On Easter Sunday morning, the women who go out to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body do so in the predawn hours, only to find the tomb empty; that Jesus has risen. And, in Luke 24, after Jesus has accompanied the two disciples to Emmaus and broken bread with them, they run the seven miles back to Jerusalem during the night in order to tell the other disciples what has happened.
The bottom line is, we don’t have to be afraid of the darkness. It will always be with us, but we can claim that it will not overcome us. God’s light will shine in the darkness forever. God’s light is shining into your darkness even now. As we continue to live in our new realities, it is not only darkness that we see, but also the light of Christ shining forth into our lives. God’s light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.
Prayer: Dear God, in the midst of times that feel dark and foreboding, please shine your light into our lives every day, so that we might feel your love and your peace in our lives, through your Son, Jesus Christ, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen.
