Light Overpowers Our Darkness

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
–John 12:46

In any contest between light and darkness, light wins not just some of the time, but all the time. Light always overpowers darkness.

Let me illustrate that for you. Imagine all the lights are turned out in a room. Now, imagine that you are in that dark room and turn on one spotlight. No matter how dark it gets, the darkness cannot extinguish that light. Darkness can never overpower light. And if you gradually add more light to the room, the darkness completely dissipates and goes away.

What is true in the physical world is true in the spiritual world as well. Light always overpowers darkness. Right now, the Bible says there is a spiritual war being waged in this universe between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Every battle you are facing right now in your life is ultimately a spiritual battle between light and darkness. Paul said it this way in Ephesians 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

This struggle with the kingdom of darkness is real. Perhaps it seems right now to you as if darkness is winning. Some of you have a hard time entering into the festivities of Christmas. Maybe it is because you recently lost a loved one. It may be because of a painful memory from the past that you cannot erase from your mind. It may be because of a prodigal child you haven’t had contact with in months or perhaps years. Perhaps it is because of an illness you are facing in your life or the life of somebody you love. It may seem like darkness is winning right now, but remember light always extinguishes the darkness–not always immediately, but ultimately.

On Good Friday 2,000 years ago, Jesus was hanging on the cross. It was the middle of the day, but darkness enveloped the earth for three hours. And then when Jesus died, they took His body and placed it in a dark tomb. The disciples’ dreams were dashed; they had lost everything. Darkness had won. Or so it seemed.

But three days later, on Easter Sunday morning, it began to dawn. When the angel appeared, the Bible says, “his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). The light of God reached into that dark, empty tomb and raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and He has now forever conquered sin and death and darkness.

Light ultimately always wins. The light of Jesus Christ overpowers the darkness of this world.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Night Before Christmas” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2017.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.lockman.org)