Day 65 (Year 2)

God’s Light Illuminating the Believer’s Darkness

“For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.” (Psalm 18:28 NASB)

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.” (Proverbs 20:27 NASB)

For believers’ spirits to be used by God as His lamps, we must first recognize the darkness in which we dwell, and then pray for God’s light to come. Afterward, we must strive to remove the veiling from the eyes of our hearts, submit to God’s illumination, and correct our reason and conscience according to His ways. If we want to depart from darkness, we need to adopt His perspective to distinguish right from wrong and to prevent the inverted state of calling light darkness or darkness light. As our spirits are guided by God and receive more of His light, our faith grows increasingly strong. At a certain point, when the spiritual light within us approaches fullness, our spirits become His lamps.

As our lamps within have been lit, our lives can turn from spiritual darkness to God’s light. We pray and cooperate with Jesus’ corrective work in our spirits, so that we can confirm His heavenly light and continually live in His presence. The word “innermost part” in the second verse comes from the Hebrew word beten, which also means “depth, womb, the place where a person’s desires and spirit originate.” When our spirits are healthy, they can discern whether our inner desires and spiritual state are correct in God’s eyes and how to cooperate with the Spirit’s work. In doing so, we further drive out inner darkness. Thus, we who have turned from darkness to God’s light, having His lamp within us, become increasingly sensitive to the spirits’ world, being resistant and having victory over the evil spirits.

When a believer’s spirit has God’s lamp within, it can grow either brighter or dimmer. After God had lit people’s lamps within, if they deliberately sinned, the light would not go out immediately. At that time, someone around them might mistakenly conclude that God approves of their sins because the divine lamps continue to shine. They misinterpret their fading inner light as a sign of His presence and approval, but in fact the opposite is true. So, if those around such sinners lack spiritual sensitivity, they might see the residual divine light while neglecting the hidden sins within. They are misled by the fading light and drawn into sinners’ evil, ultimately perishing with them. This is one of the reasons why some who are falling can cause others to stumble as well.

Reflection questions:

1) Has God’s light come to you and brought you out of darkness? If so, what actions do you need to take to cooperate with Him?

2) Does God’s light dwell in your spirit? If so, how does He help you gain a better understanding and correct your conscience and desires further?