DARKNESS

I’m finished with my hiatus sooner than I thought I would be, so I’ll be posting regularly again. 

When I was little, I was afraid of the dark. I wouldn’t admit it though. I was afraid of being alone at night, of crawling out from under my cozy covers to the cold, scary world that laid beyond my bed. Darkness held a world of too many bad possibilities, in my mind.

I’m sixteen years old, and I’m afraid of the dark. But the darkness I’m afraid of isn’t a lack of light at nighttime. No, I’m afraid of the darkness that seems to envelope our world. All I have to do is check the News app on my phone to terrify myself. All I have to do is remember our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ to make my blood run cold. All I have to do is think about school shootings, unloved people, unborn babies being murdered by the thousands, soldiers dying for our freedom, orphans all alone, kids in child prisons, peoples’ freedom being taken away….

My list could go on. I could talk about murder. I could talk about unheard cries and unseen tears. I could talk about pain and suffering and injustice and unfairness and darkness for far, far too long. And that hurts to have to write that. I hate that I can say that everywhere I look, there is darkness.

Darkness is everywhere. It runs rampant, like a plague. A disease that we human beings cannot cure. It affects everyone and everything on this earth. Darkness pulls us all down, down, down, like the London Bridge in that old nursery rhyme. We all fall down…

Our world is dark. Our world is fallen. Our world is sick and twisted. And there is nothing we can do about it.

But there is Someone who can.

He goes by many names, many titles. Prince of Peace. Christ. Lord. Healer. King of Kings. Rescuer. Savior. Messiah. Yeshua. Jesus.

Today, I clicked on the News app on my phone and saw the headline. A school shooting had occurred here in Texas. Ten dead. Ten hurt. Too many to suffer. To much pain. Too much broken. My heart is hurting right now as I think of the horrific events that I swipe through on my phone. And yet one verse rings through my mind over and over again.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

-John 16:33 ESV

“Take heart… Be brave. Be strong. Chin up. Courage, dear hearts.”

“I have overcome the world… I won. I saved. I defeated. I rescued. I healed. I’m here.”

We can’t fix our world, but He can. We can’t save ourselves, but He can save us. We can’t… But He most certainly can.

On this broken, dark, fallen ball of dirt, we will have troubles. Trials. Tribulations. Pain. Suffering. Hurt. Tears.

But take heart, my friends.

For when the night passes… Morning comes.

When darkness falls… Light shines.

And our Lord and Savior has overcome the world.

-Micaiah