Friday, August 16, 2019

Alexis A. Goring ~ Out of Darkness and Into the Light ~ Faithful Friday


Out of Darkness and Into the Light

 A devotional by Alexis A. Goring




Image courtesy Pixabay.com



 A few weeks ago, while riding the Metro on my way home from work, God impressed me with a beautiful thought that turned out to be this devotional!

Here’s what happened…

The line that I take home from work starts its journey underground. The train shoots swiftly through dark tunnels illuminated by a few yellow-white lights along the way. Often, the scenery outside the windows of each car on the train isn’t too enlightening. All you can see for miles are shades of beige walls of the tunnels and sometimes it’s so dark that you can barely see anything.

Sometimes, the darkness that surrounds me while traveling on the train, overwhelms me and makes my mind start drawing parallels to dark seasons of my life and if I’m not careful, I can easily sink into despair.

However, the good news is that the darkness on my journey home doesn’t last forever. No! Why? Because after a few stops, the Metro train that I ride on emerges out of darkness and into the light! What light? The natural light of day (bright, glorious sunshine)! See, the train is only traveling underground through the darkness for a moment (okay sometimes like 40 minutes) but eventually, it does come into the light! This only happens if I’m traveling home before sunset but you get my point, right?

My point is that in this life, we will have moments (be it mere seconds, challenging minutes, long days and dark nights or many years of trials) where darkness surrounds us and despair tries to grip us. But in those times, we must remember that God is REAL and He is ever present with us!

No matter how dark your life may seem, God is still there! He still loves you! He’s still watching over you with His Heart of compassion. He’s still commanding His Heavenly Angels to minister to you as one of His children who is meant to inherit salvation! (Hebrews 1:14)

The key is to keep moving forward. Keep traveling through the darkness and following the Light of the World. Jesus Christ says in John 8:12 (ESV), “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus loves you too much to ever leave you nor will He ever forsake you! He promises this to us in Hebrews 13:5.

I hope that you will always remember this spiritual parallel that God taught me on the ride home that day. He taught me that our journey here on Earth may be filled with dark moments in which we cannot see the light but God promises us in His Word (The Holy Bible) that there is a Light at the end of the tunnel. That Light is Jesus Christ and He promises to not only be there with us in the darkness but He will also usher is into the beautiful light of eternity spent with Him in Heaven where the glory of God lights the city (Revelation 21:23) and there will be no more darkness. I imagine that sacred journey will feel like my metro ride home, emerging out of darkness and into the light! The good news is that journey of being in the light will not be short-lived, it will be forever and that my friends, is a beautiful truth!

Despite these beautiful lessons that God teaches me, sometimes worry still invades my mind. On the commute home one day this month, I was worried about my future. It was then that I felt God impress me with these words, “You act like you don’t have a God.”

I realized that He is 100% right! I should never be worried about my future or anything that happens here on Earth because I believe in and serve a God who is Mighty, Sovereign and He has a pure, caring, forgiving heart of love for ALL humankind! His love for us is unconditional and eternal, which is why He sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to save us from our sins and deliver us from evil! God wants ALL of His children to be reconciled to Him.

God doesn’t want sin to separate us from Him forever! So He made a way through the birth, life, death and resurrection of His only Son to give us a hope that this world cannot give us—hope of an eternity spent free of sin with Him! Read John 3:16-17 for details.

Circling back to my original points: Don’t be afraid. Trust God. Keep moving forward in life and remember that if you continue following Jesus Christ, you will emerge out of darkness and into the light!

In closing, please listen to this song, “God With Us” by Terrian and allow  God to bless you through it!

Love, your sister-in-Christ,

Alexis

Author Bio: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.





2 comments:

  1. Alexis, thanks once again for another great devotional article. I've never ridden on a subway. Does that mean I've lived a deprived life? :::Grin:::

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Peggy! Happy to write devotionals for your blog. Thanks for hosting me here! :)

      And no, you have not lived a deprived life at all for not riding in the subway. But hey, you always could put that on your bucket list, right? Make it a fun trip. Ride into a city with great attractions (shopping, dining, parks, etc.) and enjoy!

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