Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going (John 12:35 ESV).
In other words “Keep moving. Keep sailing!” Don’t ever stop. Don’t lower your sails for one minute. Why? Because darkness is pursuing you.
So, what is this darkness? It is anything that is not light. And God is light. Anything that is not of God is darkness. In Romans 13, Paul describes works of darkness as revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, strife and envy. But darkness is not just doing wrong. Darkness is a force. It is evil.
Ephesians 6 tells us there are spiritual beings who rule the darkness.
In Colossians, we discover that the darkness is powerful.
In 1st Peter, darkness is described as having chains to bind people.
In 2nd Peter, that darkness is described as total blackness.
We are told throughout the gospels that outer darkness is equivalent to hell.
In 1st John, we are told that if you are in the darkness, you can’t see anything. You can’t see the truth or even where the light is.
Darkness is Satan himself. And we know from 1 Peter 5 that he is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
There is an evil force following us, chasing us in fact. Sounds a bit scary to me. So, what do we do? How do we outrun it? Simple. We keep moving in and with the light.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12 NKJV).
Christianity is not a spectator sport. You don’t say a prayer, get on the ship and then lollygag around and watch other people hoist sails and haul lines. You cannot remain stagnant. You must progress, move forward, learn, grow, allow the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, convict you, change your heart. This involves more than Sunday church and reading a devotional or saying a couple of prayers during the week. This is a lifetime commitment to a deep, abiding relationship with God. It means loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, body and strength.
If you get lazy in your walk with God, darkness will creep up on you. It is subtle, slow as an insidious cancer. You won’t notice it at first; but after a while, you’ll see a change in your attitude, in the things you think about and say. Your desires will change. You’ll slip back into your old ways. You won’t pray as often, think about God very often or read your Bible. And before you know it, you’re treading water in the midst of a storm and your ship is sailing away.
So, hoist those sails, haul those lines, scrub those decks and commune with the Captain of your soul daily. Allow Him to guide your ship, teach you, lead you, love you. That’s the only way to stay out of the darkness!
MaryLu Tyndall