When Darkness Falls

Hey everyone! Welcome back! Today’s topic is something that I think a lot of us Christians need help with. 

Ever feel like we’re losing? Like the darkness in the world is winning and the light is slowly being snuffed out? It’s easy to feel that way. 

It doesn’t take a genius to know that the world is a messed up place. All you have to do is read the news. Another shooting. Another war somewhere. Another natural disaster. It’s not hard to tell that we live in Satan’s world right now. It’s easy to get discouraged by this. It’s easy to think that the light is going out. 

But oh, how untrue that is.

God is still God, and He has not surrendered an inch of His authority. 

 God is not surprised by any of this, you guys. And that’s why we don’t need to be afraid. Look at what Proverbs says: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wills” (Proverbs 21:1). Even the kings, presidents, prime ministers, and dictators of this world are under the sovereign control and will of almighty God. You’ve probably seen that instagram post that says “no matter who is president, Jesus is king”. And yes, it’s cliché, but oh so true. It might seem like the world is in chaos, but God has not surrendered His control. He holds the heart of every leader and politician. He’s working all things for the good of His people (Romans 8:28). He won’t leave his people alone in this dark world.

He promised us victory.

Victory over this world. Victory over the devil. And, yes, victory over death itself. You know what Romans 8:37 says, don’t you? “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” You hear that? More than conquerors. This fallen world may win a few battles, but my friend, the war has already been won. And guess what? You’re on the winning side. This is what Jesus tells us in John 16:33. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” Notice the cause and effect. We overcome because Jesus overcame. It all goes back to Him. 

So what do we do when we feel like we’re losing to the dark? Well, first, remind yourself of God’s sovereign control over every nation and leader. They all answer to God. Every last one of them. So don’t worry about who’s in power, Jesus holds ultimate authority. Secondly, remind yourself that you win. You win because Jesus won. We know how the story ends. It’s gonna end with God. It began with God, it will continue with God, and it will end with God. God and all of his people gathered around his throne singing his praises. 

Cling to His promises. He made a lot of promises to you (post coming soon). But one of those promises is that the darkness will not win. Just read John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The darkness has not and will not overcome the light. You know he also calls you the light of the world? So the darkness will not overcome you. Let your light shine in this dark world. You’ve got the power of almighty God inside of you. The darkness doesn’t stand a chance. The darkness around you is no match for the God that’s inside of you. Just look at 1 John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Over and over again we see God’s promise that we will see a victory over this world through Him. Don’t forget it! You have God’s promise!

One thing to remember, though, about victory is that it only comes with surrender. We talked about this in my last post. You can’t do anything without God. He says that He is the true vine and apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). You see, the only way you are going to overcome this world is by resting in the victory He already won. He has already overcome. Now it’s your job to surrender everything to Him. Surrender your fear of the future. Surrender your worries about your financial situation. Surrender your anxiety about who will win the next election. Trust him to provide your every need. He can and he will. 

So when the world is going crazy, take heart. God has not surrendered His authority. He holds the power of the whole world in His hands. He promises you victory over this dark world. 

The darkness around you is no match for the God that’s within you.

“While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn’t surrendered His authority.” -A.W. Tozer