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 ISAIAH 50:10 "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God."

JOHN 8:12 "Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

These two texts might seem contradictory at first glance, but they are not. Think! Does a sheep have utter clarity about where they are going, or do they simply follow the Shepherd because He is trustworthy and good?

Jesus made it clear that those who believe Him and surrender their lives to Him by repentance and faith will be given a new heart and a new spirit. God's Life will replace the condition of spiritual death that once ruled in them. That old life was one of profound darkness and deception. Jesus stated in the Gospel of John (John 14:23) that those who believe Him will find that He and the Father will come and make their home IN them. The Holy Spirit is the very Life of God being lived in the follower of Jesus Christ. The old nature of sin has been cut away. Spiritual darkness has been replaced with the Light of Life.

COLOSSIANS 2:11-12 "When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead."

Every follower of Jesus Christ experiences "desert times" when their conscious awareness of the Lord's Presence in their life seems absent. Someone has called this experience "a dark night of the soul" and it surely feels that way. The truth is, though, that there is nothing in ALL creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus; nothing!

It is not my perception of the presence of the Holy Spirit living out the Life of God in me that is ever to be the thing that verifies the fact. Even if I cannot see where I am going or what is happening around me...listen...I am STILL walking in the Light of Life because He is the Light of Life within me that nothing can extinguish. I am actually never in the "dark" because He is not just with me but is IN me. The Holy Spirit is Life within me and in Him there is no darkness at all.

So, these two revelations from the Lord God are simultaneously true! ISAIAH 50:10 "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God." JOHN 8:12 "Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Our ancient enemy will try his damnedest to get us to focus on present difficulties, present feelings and troubles as the things that "verify" whether God is with us or not. It is in that place of not knowing in the "now" what is transpiring that we rest in His promises. For no matter how many promises God has made, they find their "YES" in Jesus Christ, so we can, with confidence say, "AMEN" to God's glory.

The Light of Life being lived out in the follower of Jesus Christ never fails, never dims, never leaves us. God is not just "with" us but is actually "Life within us". The Lord is your Life. He is transforming us, guiding us, correcting us, encouraging us, comforting us, providing for us and protecting us. In all circumstances and in all things, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.

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