Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."-- Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
It's easy to focus on the darkness "out there". I mean, there's so much of it. Turn on any news station, pick up any magazine or newspaper, or surf the web at any given moment and you'll be bombarded by a flood of never-ending darkness. Crimes, death, natural disaster, scandal, poverty. It's all around us.
It's easy to find our hearts united in a desire for justice. A desire to rid the world of all it's filth. To pick it up, dust it off, and make it all better.
My heart resonates with that longing. It's a real part of me. I long to shine a light in this darkness. And I am pursuing that.
But for the first time in my life, God has been challenging me to take a good hard look at the darkness inside.
You see, in defeating the darkness inside is the first step to having victory over the darkness out there. There is some serious truth in that statement. God longs for us to take a look at ourselves as the first component to the problems around us.
Want peace on earth? Work on the relationships in your life that are in need of peace.
Want to tackle greed in corporate America? Take a look in the materialism in your own home.
Want to overcome global poverty? Take accountability of your own selfishness.
Want to get rid of the pornography industry? Ask God to cleanse you of your own lusts.
Want to do away with abortion? See how God is calling you to care for the children around you.
Want to put an end to gay marriage? Maybe it's time to learn the reality of unconditional love.
It's so easy to look at the darkness out there, but so difficult to look at the darkness within.
I'm grateful for a loving God who doesn't rub my shortcomings in my face, but instead, He rubs them out.
Lord, help me to search my heart and tackle the darkness from within.
Create in me a clean heart and a right spirit.
Thanks for writing this, there is a lot of Truth to the need to weed out our own darkness before truly being a light for others with the same struggles. Still, even when we are struggling and seem like we don't have it all quite together, God still manages to use our brokenness to encourage others who are caught in the same problem, funny how things work out like that.
ReplyDeleteEither way, here's to God rubbing out the darkness and in its place, a light that emanates His peace.
'Create in me a clean heart O God' are words that mean a lot to me.
ReplyDeleteAs children of God, we certainly need to always stay clear from darkness and walk in His light, first by coming clean before God in all areas of our unholy lives. After our confession and repentance, we need also to take steps to build a closer relationship with God, to pray, study, and walk in His Word. Once we have laid hold of our lives to live victorious in Christ, we must then decisively take steps to stamp out the darkness in our lives, the bad habits and unhealthy practices, before we can illuminate the world.
Dear Lord, open our eyes and minds to see and remember the havoc darkness can create in our lives and in the lives of those who are yet unsaved. Help us Lord to depart completely from darkness to walk in the Light. Steer our hearts Lord to comprehend the consequences darkness can bring to the world. Shine through us O God and set us and the world free from darkness.
Thank you for your thoughts and your prayer LivingWater. May God continue to set you apart!
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