Why Our Darkness Hates God's Light

When I was walking through my darkest seasons of mental distress and spiritual crisis, even the thought of being exposed by God's light was excruciatingly uncomfortable. I knew that walking in God's light would require me to be honest with myself, and others, about the most personal parts of me. I also knew that stepping into God's light could cost me important relationships, fail to meet the expectations of others, and potentially ruin the reputation I had built. And that, terrified me.

So much so that I kept spiraling further and further into darkness simply because I was too scared to embrace the light of God. That refusal, however, was an indicator that I did not truly know God or understand His character. Because once I came to know the Lord and understand Him, a flip switched in me. All of a sudden I craved His light at all costs.

Now that I am walking in the light of God with my darkness exposed and healed, I am fascinated by the fact that darkness and light cannot coincide in the same space (both scientifically and spiritually).

Literally speaking, darkness is defined as the absence of light; where as light is defined as a form of energy that allows us to see. Darkness is a void. Light is a void filler. The two cannot coincide. A space is either occupied or it is unoccupied. But it cannot be both. Though a dark, void space can be filled with other objects that remain hidden in the dark, the moment light fills the space, darkness longer exists (by definition).

When we apply these literal definitions to the spiritual realm, we not only gain insight into the darkness experienced in this world, but we also gain helpful tools as we learn to navigate through that darkness. While there are many insights we could highlight, I'll focus on three.

Every human has a void that needs to be filled.
By design, God "put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV). Every person, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religious practice, societal rank, or cultural environment, has a deep awareness that there has to be something more than this life.  Something beyond. Something bigger. Something more powerful. Something more meaningful. Something more permanent. Something, dare I say, eternal?

Yet, also by design, God prohibits us from satisfying that eternal longing outside of Himself.

Only God's light is meant to fill our void. 
The light of God is more than a sacred teaching or a way of life that leads to kindness, happiness, or self improvement methods.

God's light is quite literally His Word that manifested in bodily form through Jesus Christ. We learn that Jesus, "was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:2-25).  It is God's Word and work through Jesus that was predestined to fill our void in this life and eternally.

Any person, any religion, any lifestyle that omits Jesus, rejects the light of God; and when a person rejects God's light as their primary void filler, they are left with only one option: turning to faulty substitutes that can never do for the soul what only God's light was designed to do.

All other void fillers eventually bring harm.

Some people are deceived away from God's light, such as through false teachings or false religions.
Some people are unaware of God's light because no one has ever shared it with them.
Some people avoid God's light because they do not know God or understand Him, as was the case for me.
Some people, however, choose to "rebel against the light", refusing to "stay in its path" (Job 24:13).

According to John 3:19-21, this decision boils down to loving darkness more than God's manifested light through Jesus, "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

The result of filling one's God-sized void with anything, or anyone,  other than His light? Death; for though a person's own way "seems right" in the beginning, "its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12). That death might be physical, such as death by overdose or addiction. Or that death might be spiritual, such as an eternal separation from God.

Hope in the Darkness

Our darkness comes in many forms such as mental, emotional, sexual, physical, relational, financial, spiritual, and more. Our darkness leads to death, whether physical, spiritual, or both, when filled with anything other than God's light. Though having our darkness exposed by the light of God might feel uncomfortable at first (as was my case), God promises that the process leads to our freedom, purpose, protection, and healing.

For though our darkness leads to death. God's light (Jesus) leads to life. Jesus testifies to this when He spoke these words in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."