Walking in the Light

As mentioned in my first and second devotional, when we are in the thick of seasons of darkness, our minds and emotions can become detached from reality. These seasons feel completely disorienting as the enemy confuses us on how God and others view us, as well as how we view God, ourselves and the world around us.

After I accepted God's gift of Jesus as my savior, and buried my old self in the watery grave of baptism to rise as a new creation, there were two truths within God's word that completely reshaped how I understood the concept of light and darkness in regards to my relationship with God, myself, and others.

The first, was found in James 5:16:
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

During my darkest moments, I was convinced that I needed to fix myself and polish myself up before approaching others for prayer or help. As in, I felt that I needed to overcome my darkness so that I could later share with others the darkness I had walked through. But this wisdom shared by James, the half brother of Jesus, completely reversed that process.

The first step within the healing process should be to confess that we are struggling; both to God, but also to a healthy community filled with Godly and righteous people that can be trusted with our information. That struggle may or may not involve a sin, but at the least, might involve a heavy thought, temptation, or weight that we are having a hard time letting go of. The second  step should be receiving powerful prayer and wisdom from that community. Often times this involves being reminded of God's truth, being held accountable, or receiving strength from the faith of others through prayer. It is after these two steps, that true healing begins to take place.

In light of this, I began to prioritize being a part of a healthy church community that cultivates and demonstrates transparent, safe, and trustworthy community groups that meet weekly to provide times of confession, prayer, and encouragement. This was life changing for me as I learned how, when, and to whom I should share my darkness with.

The second truth, was found in 1 John 1:5-9:
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Growing up, I always understood that walking in the light referred to obedience. As in, as long as we are obedient to God, then we have fellowship with others and receive forgiveness. But as I looked at the context of this passage, I noticed that this passage is referring to a lifestyle of bringing darkness into God's light through confession within community. It is the very process of continually exposing our darkness by God's light, that not only purifies us, but that also connects us deeper into "fellowship with him" and "fellowship with one another".

These two approaches to light and darkness completely shifted how I viewed transparent openness with any level of darkness inside of me, as well as how I viewed the importance of intimate and trustworthy community. I am so blessed to have a trustworthy group of Godly individuals that I meet with every week that beautifully fosters a space where we can all vulnerable share our struggles or mistakes, powerfully pray over one another, remind each other of God's truth, and celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit that helps to keep us in God's light.

And while a willingness to continually be exposed to God's light felt foreign and uncomfortable at first, it is now something that I deeply value and prioritize. This process has been one of the most significant additions to my life, and without it, I would not have experienced the level of healing and transformation that I have experienced.