Darkness cannot overcome the light of God’s presence

Published 5:52 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2017

It is amazing to think that no amount of darkness can extinguish even the tiniest light, which is simple but solid evidence that God’s authority is greater than any other power. John 1:5 says, “And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness cannot overcome it!”

I remember as a child, probably no older than 6 or 7 years old, my parents planned an exciting adventure to Mammoth Cave. I recall that we followed a large group of people into the cave as the tour guide explained about the aragonites and stalagmites and so on. There was decent lighting as we moved deeper through the damp tunnels, but still a little scary for a wide-eyed kid. Anyway, we finally came to a place that opened up into a huge room that is technically called a “chamber” that also included a steep drop-off, that in my mind was nothing less than terrifying.

People were saying it seemed to have no bottom, and I was definitely not going to the edge to confirm these statements. Yes, there was a flimsy railing to prevent someone from falling into a delightful Chinese restaurant, but nonetheless, I was not taking any chances. Suddenly, they intentionally turned out the lights and I am not exaggerating, you could not see your hand in front of your face. Of course, they were trying to make a point about total darkness, and believe me, I was completely convinced. It did not help that I had somehow drifted away from my parents just before the black-out, and I remember during those few moments feeling a huge sense of relief as I had both arms wrapped around what I thought was my dad’s leg. When the lights came back on, I was calmly trying to adjust my vision when I looked up into the face of a complete stranger. Yes, in the chaos, I attached myself to some poor man and was embarrassed, to say the least. When my frantic parents found me, the rest of the tour my mom was either holding my hand or had a firm grip on my jacket.

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You know, thinking about how dark it is in this world without light, gives us a hint that eternity will be the same way. 

God’s word proclaims that heaven will be filled with the brilliant light of His presence forever. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 23 says, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” and also in verse 25, we are promised there will never be darkness or night. John chapter 8 and verse 12 says, “Then spoke Jesus unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Dr. Holland is the author of “A Lifestyle of Worship – living in the awareness of God’s presence.” Request a free copy of his new CD, “Keeper of my soul” at billyhollandministries.com