Shadows of Hope

 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…finding out what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works…” Ephesians 5:8-11

One of the most deceitful attempts that Satan uses to distract and discourage us is lulling us asleep spiritually. He knows the less time we spend walking near Jesus the more we will look like the world. He offers alternative views of who we are which contradict who God says we are. He guilts us into believing we can never really be free from past sins, even though God ‘remembers our sins no more’ once we have a repentant heart. His brushstrokes paint darkness over the canvases of our lives when we don’t protect our hearts. No wonder we sometimes walk around with our shoulders hung low with an unsatisfied heart. We have forgotten that we are children of the Light and have become scared to death of our circumstances surrounding us. We imagine so many things that never come to past. We walk as children who don’t believe God is really in complete control of everything we imagine…COVID-19…our government…our health…our relationships. Why on earth do we as children of Light need to be reminded? Because we live in a world where the enemy has been given certain licenses to roam…to steal our peace…to kill our joy…to distract our minds...to convince us God really isn’t as powerful as He says He is. Our fear is our proof that we have taken the bait!

Once we accepted Jesus, we were born into Light and we must remain diligent in our position in Christ. We are God's children with the ability to walk out anything we face if we distance ourselves from our dark and discouraging thoughts. ‘Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Ephesians 5:14. He is the Light we are encouraged to imitate, not the attitudes of our world.

So, during our first week of Advent as we claim HOPE, we remind ourselves that walking with Christ gives us all that we need. Because of this privilege in Christ, we have HOPE that when we walk as children of God, we discover what pleases Him through prayer and His Word. We have HOPE that He will keep us from participating in fruitless things that distract us and dim our light. We have HOPE that by distancing ourselves from the world and all its empty threats, we can feel complete confidence in the One who tells the stars where to shine and the waves where to crash.

Because of HOPE, we can trust God to adjust our conduct, conversation and character and shine our light onto a dark landscape. Hope is a shadow cast by God's Light!