Fighting in the Dark

I want you to imagine the following scene in your mind.  It is absolutely dark in your room and you hear someone enter slowly through the door. You cannot see a thing but you know you could grab a lamp, a book, or some other item to hit the person. However, because of the dark, you are unable to see anything, let alone know where to strike the person to make the most impact.  You are powerless and fighting blind.

Sounds like a losing scenario, doesn’t it? Unfortunately it is way more common than one would think. This happens every day, not in our bedrooms, but in the battlefield of our mind. I began to think about how difficult it would be to win a fight in the dark. How much fumbling, powerless struggling, and overwhelming effort would be expended as a result of the inability to see. Then I remembered what God has to say about the dark in John 1:5 NIV, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Now let’s visualize a fight in the light, I would know just what to grab, where to strike, and be able to assess my impact instantly. I would also be able to see exactly who or what I was striking, resulting in a more accurate and guaranteed hit.

Why don’t we do this in our mind? Why do we let things remain in the dark when it would be so easy to shine light on that area and win not only the battle but also the war?

What does darkness look like in our mind? It looks a lot like secrets, dealing with something alone, overwhelming thoughts, emotions that only you will acknowledge, and much more. There are many “ways of attack” that the enemy uses to fight in the darkness of our minds. When you bring something into the light you have much more likelihood to exercise your power over that thing.

The power of confession and bringing into light issues that plague us provides the perfect scenario for light to overcome the darkness. So many individuals that enter our offices find themselves victorious, not as a result of our stellar counseling skills, but as a result of the ability to bring light to a situation and therefore have power over that situation. I sit with people daily who just need to allow the light to shine on a scenario, relationship, thought process, or lie. Once this happens, that individual then has power over the very thing that held them captive only minutes earlier.

So what are you fighting in the darkness? What is one area that you need to shine the light onto that will bring change to your life? Stop and ask. If you are overwhelmed with trying to shine a light in that specific area, we would love the opportunity to help shine light on those situations. We have all fought in the darkness, including myself; no one gets to sit out on this battle. Don’t beat yourself up, just turn on the light and win the war.