Following

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  John 8:12

Throughout my years as a 'follower of Jesus' I have taken it for granted that I will not walk in darkness.   He says "whoever follows me".  I took that to be a blanket coverage from the time of my acceptance of Jesus as my Saviour.  No more darkness! As I read that verse this morning I have seen that Jesus' promise is conditional.  However, as I thought upon it I began to see it from another angle. The Apostle John, in his latter years wrote much about the importance of walking in the light and avoiding darkness (1 John 1& 2).  

I have known some 'dark' times when I felt far from God and some of those times have been when I have not been closely following Jesus.  To follow Jesus means to be tuned in to his Spirit and to be walking in fellowship and obedience.  I haven't always done that.  In those times I have given a foothold to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).  And once he gets his foot in the door it's easier for him to gain more access.

Darkness is uncomfortable for us once we have experienced the joy and freedom of Jesus' light and it comes as we move away from God and slip into sin.  The discomfort is meant to make us want to get back to God.  Darkness also comes as we slip into unbelief when difficult times come.  Sometimes we don't even know how we have grieved the Holy Spirit, but if we ask for His light to shine into our darkened heart, he will show us.  The Holy Spirit gently convicts us and when he does, our spirit wants to repent and walk in the light.

The psalmist obviously loved God yet experienced times of darkness when he wrote "Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" (Psalm 42,2b-3a).  He felt the oppression of the enemy and his was more than likely a physical enemy, but ours are spiritual enemies, that require spiritual weapons (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).  He cries out to God, Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;"  He recognises that it's through light and truth that guidance comes.  God's word is the truth we need to turn things around.  We are good followers when we keep the word of God central in our thoughts and on our lips.  Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  How true that is.

We live in a world of increasing darkness that desperately needs light.  As followers of Jesus we are the ones who can bring that light into the world, a light that cannot be hidden and a light that will shine more and more brightly until the 'full light of day' who is Jesus, comes (Proverbs 4:18).  Keep your light shining brightly, don't make room for any darkness because in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5) and there can be no fellowship between light and darkness.

Prayer:  Jesus, light of the world, shine your light on any darkness in my heart today.  Help me to actively follow you and not give any foothold to the devil, but to hold firmly to your truth. Amen