The Dark Deceptiveness of Darkness

 

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

I’ve been thinking a lot about spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:3) and darkness and how this darkness can be so deceptive. Lost people who are blind do not grasp that they are in darkness and, in fact, they prefer darkness. The Scripture says that they love it.

Consider John 3:19-20—“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” People loved the darkness!

This is why new birth by the Holy Spirit is needed. In darkness, people love what is wicked, sinful, and dark and despise the light (who is Christ, John 8:12), even though they are aware that their sin dooms them. “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). Therefore, they need the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit to give them new hearts and affections that are soft toward God and embrace repentance and faith for rescue from darkness in Christ.

I urge you to pray for “darkness lovers” in your spheres of influence, that the Spirit of God would bring them to life and draw them to Jesus Christ! Pray in terms of the promise of Ezekiel 36:26-27—“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”