Practicing Truth
What is spiritual darkness?
Verse of the Day
‘So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.’
Today’s Devotional
The first thing I love about this verse is that it implies that truth must be practiced. This means that I will not always get it right. But my immediate question about this verse is the question I put above: What is spiritual darkness?
Based on some research, here are the answers I found.
- Not Having Jesus– Spiritual darkness means not having fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The darkness of separation from God is overcome through Christ:
- Ongoing Sin– Sin darkens our understanding and destroys our spiritual sight, cloaking us in deep darkness: “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Proverbs 4:19). Moses compares this state of sin and disobedience to groping about like “a blind person in the dark” (Deuteronomy 28:29). One of Job’s friends speaks of those who are lost in spiritual darkness: “Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night” (Job 5:14).
- Living in rebellion to God and His will– This is equivalent to living in spiritual darkness. When the Lord commissioned Paul, He said, “I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:17–18, NLT).
Spiritual darkness refers to all that is in opposition to the light of God’s love in Christ. The good news that Jesus brings to this world is that His light—His life-giving Spirit—floods light and life into the spiritual darkness of the sinner’s heart. The One who opened the eyes of the blind can also bring us out of spiritual darkness. No matter how deep the darkness, the light of God’s love and truth overcomes every sin that separates us from God.
The point of this verse is not only that we need to be people of truth who are living in the light of God’s love, it is also that our words need to match our actions. I have heard many people say that they have walked away from faith because a loved one was saying one thing about God and living in a contradictory way. We simply cannot behave in any way that pushes anyone away from the precious love of God.
So what happens when we get it wrong?
Repent. It’s really that simple. Acts 3:19 says, “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”
We also need to be honest with each other about where we struggle. We need to be quick to ask each other for forgiveness. WE NEED PRACTICE! If we need to make our words match our actions, maybe we need to speak less about our fellowship with God and allow people to simply see it by how we live.
Father, help us to practice Your truth. Help us to be moldable and teachable so that You can show us exactly what that means today.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How have you improved on something you’ve practiced?
How have you been hurt by someone who spoke about God but behaved very differently?
What might you need to repent of? If in doubt, ask the Holy Spirit to show you. He is the Spirit of truth, after all.
Is there anyone that you need to apologize to and ask for forgiveness?
How can you make your words about God match your actions?
How can you speak less about God and allow others to see your faith?
Credit:
Most of my research for today’s post came from gotquestions.org. This is a great resource for any of your Biblical and/or spiritual questions.