God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” This is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Ponder It.

• How have you experienced God’s grace in the darkness of your life?
• Where and when have you been spiritually stuck?
• How does God’s grace impact the authenticity of your life?

Receive It. God’s grace meets you where you are. God makes a way where there seems to be no way. He brings light into the darkness. He reveals the truth…when we invite him to do so. Sometimes God illuminates our lives, and we don’t see what he’s revealing to us, because we refuse to look. We keep our eyes tightly shut, refusing to see the truthfulness of what’s around us. We would never admit to wanting to remain in the dark, but it becomes a habit. It’s comfortable. Our eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and we don’t feel the need for additional light. Sometimes God doesn’t illuminate our lives because we refuse to move toward him. We settle into a corner of the darkness and wonder why we can’t see. Our fear, anger, frustration, sadness, or other emotion overrides our desire to see beyond where we are. We feel stuck, so we stay stuck instead of using it as a motivation to move. Then there are the times God illuminates our lives and we sigh in relief, have an a-ha moment, or exclaim in excitement over what misunderstanding or misinterpretation is revealed. Where we could once see only a small piece of the puzzle and made extensive assumptions about the bigger picture, we now see more of the bigger picture and reorient our perspective based on our newly acquired knowledge. God’s grace filters everything through truthfulness. God’s grace is authentic. There is no deception in God’s grace. It will not trick you. It will not toy with you. It will meet you where you are and pour into you through the next steps of your journey. It will seep into the darkness around you, even where you didn’t know darkness existed. Darkness might seem uncertain and overwhelming, but God’s grace is invasive. Where you experience God’s grace, you will be nourished.

Live It. Turn on a flashlight and shine it around you. If it’s light where you are, you won’t notice it much. You might take it for granted or think it’s unnecessary. But there is some degree of darkness around you. Shine your light into it and consider the places in your life in need of light and grace.