STP Devotional for the Week of 2/24/25
Are you afraid of the dark? How does it make you feel when the lights are completely off and you can’t see what’s in front of you? It can be scary, right?
Sometimes when the lights go down between scenes during a show it can be hard to see and to get off the stage. Have you ever experienced having the stage lights go down and not being sure where your next step should be? That’s why we put glow tape on the floor and the walls and the set pieces so that the actors can see what is hidden in the dark.
Why do we have blackouts during our shows? What happens during blackouts?
We are trying to hide the set change from the audience. We try to keep them engaged in the story we are telling and don’t want them to see the stage crew coming out to move the sets. We use the dark to hide what we don’t want the audience to see.
In the Gospel of John he writes that “people loved the darkness rather than the light.” Why do you think people would love darkness rather than light? Let’s read what John has to say in chapter 3 verses 19-21.
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness
rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things
hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But
whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works
have been carried out in God.”
People love the darkness rather than the light when they have something to hide. Not just a set change, but their sin. When we are sinning or have done something wrong, we don’t want to be exposed. Our pride keeps us from stepping into the light to admit what we’ve done wrong.
With Jesus, we have a loving advocate that has already paid the price for our sins! Let’s take a look at what He calls Himself.
Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Knowing that our sins are forgiven in Christ, we can walk in the light and even though we may have to swallow our pride, we have nothing to hide. We are loved by God.
Notice what John says about what we have when we are in Christ — the light of life! That’s also very encouraging and something to consider as we live in this dark world. You and I have received a priceless gift to live in the light of Jesus knowing even though we are going to continue to mess up that God will never stop loving us. This should give us so much hope that we want to share it with others.
We have the light of Christ within us to shine in the darkness. You all know the song about hiding your light under a bushel; John 8:12 is the foundation of that little song.
This week my prayer for you is twofold.
● One: that you will live in the light by not being afraid to admit you are wrong because you know...I mean really know...that God has forgiven you in Christ.
● Two: that you would be so grateful for the forgiveness you have in Christ that you want to shine this hope into the darkness of this world.
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