The Triumph of Light

"And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it and is unreceptive to it]." (John 1:5, Amplified)

One day as I was driving home from work I looked up and saw the late afternoon sun breaking through some dark clouds. The juxtaposition of dark and light clouds and blue sky always fascinates me. The dark clouds try to take over...as if they could. They do cast a pall over the landscape, and would seem to block out the sun, but it is always only temporary, the light always breaks through.

Where the light breaks through the most amazing transformation takes place! The previously dark sky is punctured by clouds brilliantly lit from within. The dark clouds are compelled to part, making way for the illumined clouds. Sometimes only the edge of a cloud is lit, sometimes a single cloud, and scattered throughout are patches of sun-brightened clouds. Eventually the darkness must dissipate in the growing light. Wherever the light has pierced the darkness, the sky is the clearest blue you could ever hope to see. I never tire of the triumph of light over darkness! It brightens my countenance, fills my wondering heart with thanksgiving, and stirs my spirit to worship the true Master of light.

This triumph of light over darkness in nature is a beautiful picture of a spiritual reality. The light of God pierced my sin-darkened heart at salvation, chasing away the clouds of unbelief, fear, and rejection that had cast a pall over the landscape of my life. When I allow God's love-light to shine through me, that same light spreads out, touches others, fills them, and spills out until more and more are beautifully transformed. This growing light, like the pink-tinged promise of a new day, carries with it all the possibilities of heaven. Storms happen, in life as in nature, but just as the sun always breaks through to chase away the dark clouds, so God's light always breaks through to chase away the clouds that would darken my spirit. It may not always occur as quickly as I would like, but it is a certainty, just as day always follows night.

Let the light of God fill you, chase away the storm clouds in your life, and bring you into the dawn of a new day.