Only One Light Can Penetrate The Darkness Of Global Secularism

Word-Of-The-Day:  ‘(21) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”  (22) Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.  (23) No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.’ (Exodus 10:21-23)

My wife and I were in a cabin in the woods of northern Georgia last week. The daytime, while cool compared to southwest Florida’s heat and humidity, was bright but shaded by all the trees surrounding the cabin. At night, the doors and windows in the main living area in the center of cabin, having no curtains on them so one could look out, became a deep shade of black.

The front and back porches had ‘party’ lights that were lit around the ceiling of them, but looking past them, one could barely even make out the trees. When it was bedtime, and all the lights were turned off (save for a nightlight in the bathroom), the entire cabin was as black as the outside; holding up my hand in front of me before falling asleep, I could not make out its outline.

It made me appreciative of the ‘light pollution’ we have at home. We have outdoor lighting around the house, with motion-sensor lighting in our back and side yards so at night we can walk around the house and pool deck and see where we’re going. This also helps the raccoons and other animals at night navigate through the yard, as witnessed through the trail camera set up to capture their exploits as they traverse our backyard.

Inside, even at the darkest part of the night, the various electronics inside the house shine the time and status through LEDs, and dim night lights in the living room and kitchen allow me to walk through the house, seeing the obstacles just enough while removing the danger of stubbing my toe or knocking over some item.

The darkness that Moses, the Israelites, and the Egyptians experienced, around 3,500 years ago or so, was a physical darkness such as this, but it was for three whole days, not just in the evening and early morning hours. While the Israelites had lamps to see, the Egyptians did not, so unlike our cabin that at least had a nightlight in the bathroom to guide me in the wee hours of the morning (no pun intended), the Egyptians likely had to stumble around, feeling their way to get from room to room, or from one home to another. (They likely had a lot of stubbed toes and broken knick-knacks, as well.)

That supernatural darkness over Egypt was like the night; it was physical, but it also represented a Spiritual darkness, a shutting off of God from Egypt, disabling their lamps while the Israelites had theirs. When God removes His presence from a people, a Spiritual form of darkness comes over those people.

Even the Israelites, who saw God’s glory in physical form and experienced His presence Spiritually – the Cloud guiding them during the day, the Fire protecting them at night, His voice heard from Mount Sinai as He met Moses; they had to experience the darkness at times in their history, when God removed Himself from them when they ignored Him and His precepts.

Fast forward to today… Has a palatable darkness, one that we can sense – see, hear, feel, taste, and smell – hit our world? Although Faith in Christ is strong among many, and in some cases is seeing a surge of new believers coming to Faith, there are also the actions of the global society that just a generation ago would have been deemed wrong and condemned.

There is a growth of acts in sexual debauchery and general wickedness that today is not only accepted but approved of and applauded as ‘brave’ by many. A wave of false religions such as Buddhism and Islam have overtaken Europe and parts of America, once bastions of staunch Christian Faith. Even some ‘Christians’ celebrate these actions.

It is not a physical darkness of the lights turned off but it is a Spiritual darkness where the secular worldview, led by Satan, attempts to cover the Light of Christ from seeing His Holiness and the Righteous acts that obeying Him brings. This darkness is so black some who claim to be Christians are blind and cannot see what is in front of them.

What can penetrate that type of darkness? Only Jesus! In order to remove the darkness, His Light is the only thing that can break us out of secularism’s shade. The Christian needs to be obedient to His Great Commission and one by one, individually, provide Jesus to others. In those times, in what we call ‘revival’, does the Light of Christ overcome the darkness of evil and the secular worldview.  

We are in the days where we have the momentum; we are entering the holiday season of first Thanksgiving, then Christmas. The movement of following Jesus through the death of Charlie Kirk is still resonating with our young people, and will be open to hearing the Gospel. Don’t let Linus Van Pelt be the leader of evangelism again this year, as he has been in Christmases past – he’s a fictional cartoon character and its an indictment on us that we don’t lead in the sharing the Gospel message during the time of Advent.

Be the torchbearer of Jesus’ Light this holiday season! Be strong and courageous, and share Him with friends, family, and even strangers, those who you’ll meet while shopping (don’t do everything online) or eating out. Ask a stranger if they need prayer, and be amazed how most of them will smile and share their needs with you, and how they respond to the name of Jesus. They will be appreciative of seeing the Light, perhaps for the first time or in a long time, in a darkened world.