John 1:4-5  “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.“

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart”—Proverbs 20:27

The spirit, or the inward part of a person is the guiding force of their life. If the spirit of a person is darkness, negativity will rule them. You may have natural life. Your body is alive. Your personality can be seen and experienced. But is your spirit alive? You are a three part being…you ARE a spirit, you HAVE a soul and you LIVE in a body. 

God breathed into the first man Adam’s body the breath of life, the scriptures say. It was His life. It was joined with God’s life at the beginning until sin came into the world. When Adam essentially “bowed his knee” to the devil, the spiritual life that was from God left, and darkness came into mankind’s spirit or inner being. This is much like when, as a child you did something wrong and were chastised for it. You felt bad. Maybe you tried to make it right, but couldn’t. Maybe you could make it right, but there was still the memory of committing the act. Things were never quite the same after that. The reminder of sin haunts an unregenerated (or unsaved) human being.

Who controls you?

The allegiance Adam gave to the devil was where this exchange happened. The Life of God left because, by disobeying God Adam submitted to a different spirit which now put him into the darkness as well as all future generations. You are  controlled by one or the other, depending on who your allegiance is to. If it is to yourself and your own desires, you are in darkness. If it is to God, then you  have light. If you serve only yourself, you are actually submitted to the devil who tells you what to think. It is a spiritual matter….But there is always hope!

The hope is in God and what His Son did for us. In Jesus Christ alone is Life. The light, the truth, shines into darkness, but the darkness cannot comprehend it. A person living in this darkness cannot understand the truth until they submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Only then can they see it. Turn on a flashlight in a dark room and see how it illuminates the darkness. Submitting to Jesus Christ is like turning on the flashlight…the lights come on in your spirit and your mind. you will find yourself seeing things differently.

The Helper wants to help

The Holy Spirit broods over unsaved men to lead them to the truth. That’s one of His jobs. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Bible says. John 14:6. His disciples were to replicate this truth throughout the whole world. If we are “regenerated,” or “born again,” or “saved, ” (all words used to describe this change from darkness to God’s light) we are each “lights” and actually carry that Truth in ourselves, in our spirits, because God now lives in us. We are like a candle or a lamp to the darkness around us. We now have the ability to be ruled and led by God’s Spirit and no longer have to live in spiritual darkness. And we can help others find the truth.

This light is where peace is, where hope is and where love is. Joy abounds there. It is where all healing is, whether emotional, mental, or physical; where prosperity in all things is, where a good life is. It can be a life of Heaven on earth, where there is peace, safety and security, provision, and love. This is God’s Kingdom, and it first comes into our hearts. One day, there will be an actual visible appearance of this kingdom when Jesus comes back to set it up and rule over the entire earth.

Scriptures are full of references to this light

The scriptures have much to say on the topic of light. It behooves us to contemplate them and get understanding of this topic. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the light of the world….

Ephesians 5:8 says “you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord, therefore walk as children of light..”

1 Thess. 5:5 says “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.”

1 Peter 2:9 claims “You are a chosen generation….that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

In the book of John, Jesus talks much about Himself as being the light of the world. John 8:12 “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.” That’s a promise!

To have “light” means to have wisdom, understanding, to be able to “see,” to understand, to know things hidden from ordinary men who live in darkness. This is deliberate on God’s part. To those who live in His light, He reveals things. We are His friends.

John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

John 12:46 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.. (or the devil’s domain).

But men reject the light and truth, because they love evil. 

John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that the light (or the Truth) has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Choose life and light

The choice is simple: Do you desire true wisdom and understanding of life? Do you need help making decisions? I did. I made terrible decisions. Come to the Light, which is Jesus. He is the source of all wisdom. He actually IS Wisdom. Do you need peace in your life? Come to the light. Come out of the darkness into the light of God’s truth. He is the source of peace. Do you need joy in your life? You can have it, but there’s only one Way…there’s only One Person who has it and can give it to you. And He wants to give it to you…because he loves YOU!

But if you persist in doing it YOUR way, the world’s way, you won’t have peace. You won’t have joy. You won’t have wisdom. Living in the darkness under the devil’s domain cannot give you those things. Only God, through His Son Jesus Christ, can give you those things. I pray you find Him now, today.