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 AM I IN THE LIGHT WHEN ALL SEEMS DARK TO ME AT THIS MOMENT?

It is the experience of believers in Jesus Christ that they sometimes come into a time, as they follow Him, a time of what can only be described as a kind of darkness. It is a moment or a season where their conscious awareness of the Lord's presence with them is gone. Note: it is not that the Lord's Presence is gone, only the conscious awareness of His Presence.

Some have called such a season as "the dark night of the soul." 

All sorts of thoughts merged the other day as I read the Words of Jesus in John 8:12, "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I asked Him what this meant if I felt I was "in the dark". What came to mind was the 23rd Psalm. The LORD is my Shepherd. I am NOT my own shepherd. I don't lead myself if I am His sheep. He feeds me by His Word, waters me by the Holy Spirit, causes me to live a changed and changing Life, one that reflects His righteousness and power to save any who will believe Him. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death fearlessly because He both corrects and protects me because He is with me. 

David knew God's Presence was with him, but now, by His death and resurrection, by grace through faith, Jesus Christ lives IN me. In fact, He IS life within me, not just with me.

Psalm 27:1-2 states, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?"

If the Lord is Life within me, if HE is my light and my salvation (not my circumstances or even my own awareness of things), then I am not walking, never walking in darkness. He is the Light of Life and in Him there is no darkness at all. Therefore, because I am His and He is in me and I am in Him, I have the light of life: Jesus Christ, Himself.

Even if I cannot see where I am going, I am not in the "dark" because He is with and in me, Eternal Light. As His sheep, I trust what He sees and believe He is leading me in paths of righteousness. I trust that HE sees, not what I can or cannot see. He is faithful to lead, guide, protect, correct, nourish, heal, and cause me to grow in His grace regardless of how I feel at any given time.

Even when I feel alone, I am not alone, because He is Life within me. I do not need to fear that, because I haven't any strong awareness of His conscious Presence, He has abandoned me. He is with me and I am His. I never walk in darkness because of Who Jesus Christ is, what He has done and is now living out within me.

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