Unshackled Moments ~ October 10, 2018 ~ Don't Fear The Light

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

- Marianne Williamson

I heard this quote for the first time this evening and looked it up.  I have not read the book it comes from and do not know if it is good or not. I saw enough in the text around it to know that the way I began to think when I heard it is out of context and not the way the author intended. I used the quote, because it is hers. I may be about to butcher it, as far as what she intended is concerned, but that sentence is hers, and I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

The second I heard this, I thought, "Man, that is so true." Williamson's idea is that we are afraid to be as big as we are, to be the children of God that we are. I am not saying she's wrong. I am not saying that's not true. But I am saying there is another way to take that sentence when it stands alone that is also true.

It's been almost a year since the fire that came close to costing Leah and I our home. I remember getting the fire out and using fans to suck out the smoke. I knew there was damage. I knew it wasn't good. But I didn't know. I couldn't see. It was too dark. But once the smoke cleared enough that I could get in and shine light in the room, my heart sank and my stomach turned. The light confirmed what I knew, killed any hope that maybe things weren't as bad as I feared and made it impossible to pretend it away.

Instinctively we understand this idea. We get hurt. We know we're hurt. We can feel it. But we dread looking, because that will make it more real, will make us unable to ignore the damage or pretend it isn't that bad. This hurt could be material, physical, mental, emotion and or spiritual.

Those of us who have lived in darkness, have a tendency to run from God, because we fear the light. We fear the confirmation of how much damage has been done, just how big of a mess things really are. One of my favorite quotes from Steve Camp is:

The closer I get to You I see I'm a stranger to Your holiness.

I can relate to this, because it is true for me. The closer I get to Daddy, the more I see how far I am from right, from being OK as I am. That's because when the light is low, I can't see exactly how much dirt is in the room. But when I turn the light on brighter, even the small specks stand out. Light is revealing, and it is frightening when we know we're not clean, or that we're broken and damaged.

But here's the thing about the fire last year. Yes, seeing how bad it was hurt. It was heartbreaking. But it was also necessary to know exactly what needed to be repaired and replaced. It was necessary to have enough light to see to do the work. Leah held a light for me more than once so that I could see to drive nails, for example. The light is scary, but it is also necessary.

The good news is that our fears are unfounded Seeing the blood gushing from a wound does not actually make the wound worse. We'll bleed out just as quickly in the dark. We need the light to see how to stop the bleeding. And God, who is light (1 John 1), already knows our mess. Letting  Him reveal it to  us doesn't surprise Him. It doesn't make Him want to hurt us or reject us. He knows our wounds and our sin.  His greatest desire to is to shine the light that enables life and healing. He wants to clean us up, restore, repair and replace what needs to be healed and make us new. We don't need to fear the light or Him. He loves us. So while it is scary to look at the damage, let us not shrink back. Instead let us remember that this is the first step. Seeing the need. And it is what enables the work that leads to life.


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