Light in the Darkness: From Hiding to Healing
Growing up in the church, one of the scariest passages of the Bible always was, “everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken,” (Matthew 12:36). Shoooooot. Pack it up now! This verse gets me every time.
Another verse that has brought me pause over the years, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open,” (Luke 8:17).
If you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing, this verse can be very unsettling. If something was done against you, this verse might bring a little hope- justice is coming, sooner or later.
I heard a friend of mine preach once on the above passage from Luke. He encouraged us to bring our own “stuff” to the light, because it’s less painful than someone else unexpectedly shining a light on your poor decisions. But either way, by virtue of being caught or by means of confession, the light comes to expose the darkness in our lives.
When things get exposed, it’s a deeply painful time…for a lot of people. For the doer of deeds (who often feel powerless, vulnerable and angry), for victims/anyone directly involved, for people who know them, for those similarly wounded, for on-lookers about town. Even though flipping the lights on in the darkness is much needed and right, exposure of wrong brings a heavy weight.
But, in the kingdom of God, the exposure of wrong brings opportunity for redemption. It means healing is now possible, where only sickness reigned before.
“Everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light,” (Ephesians 5:13).
Everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
Think of it this way: (Fill in the blank) happened. And rather than it be a constant marker of shame and contempt in my life, it is now its own light in the darkness. It now illuminates the path to healing, redemption and restoration.
The same friend of mine who preached the sermon on how everything hidden will be exposed later had his own hidden deeds brought into the light. He’s still my friend. And I’m thankful to be standing in the light with him again. Since his darkness was brought into the light, and he agreed to stay in the light, he opened himself to healing and restoration.
What was once darkness has become illuminated and now lights the way for other people in darkness to find hope.
If you have been wronged, there is hope for you. If you have been caught in the act of doing wrong, there is hope for you, too.
No one needs to stay where they are– in the darkness. A better outcome awaits, even though the light can be scary and hard to adjust to at first.
God is there. And you’ll find more friendly faces than you’d expect, each holding their own light.
Click here for more info about how therapy can help you find the light, in Walker, Louisiana and Baton Rouge.
