Confusion is what comes when I read my passage of study this morning. I have been studying the word “darkness” and have been reminded that God is light and He will be with me in the darkness and therefore I should look to Him when in darkness and not allow the darkness to overcome me. But if God is with me in the darkness, how is it that I am not to fellowship with Him there. This is where the confusion set in.
“6If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” – 1 John 1:6 (ESV)
When reading this verse, I find difficulty in understanding that God is there in the darkness with me, until I look at more than just this one verse. I am to stay away from darkness, and fellowship that are in the light.
“5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” – 1 John 1:5 (ESV)
God may be in the darkness with me, but only as light in the darkness for me. I have to remember that all of my time here in this world will not be perfectly seasoned for my pleasure. I will have times where the darkness with surround me. It is in those times that I should be looking to God for the light I need in order to escape that darkness and continue in the light with God.
I am not to consciously walk in darkness and look for fellowship with God. He is not there for us to find and fellowship with. If I am walking in the darkness by choice, God will not be there for me to commune with and lean on. I have chosen the sinful way and for that I am on my own.
However, if I find myself suffering adversity for Christ, then God will be there with me and when I call on Him, he will provide the light needed for me to escape. I will have a beacon to guide me through the darkness and back into the light where we will find fellowship.
“7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7 (ESV)
And therefore the confusion I experienced is cleared up. There will be times when we will find ourselves in the darkness suffering for Christ and when we call out to God, He will be there to deliver us from that suffering so that we can once again join Him in the light. We will fellowship with others in the light and being that God is light, we will fellowship with Him also.
When you are in the darkness, was that something you chose or is it a result of your dedication to God’s plan for your life? If as a result of your dedication to God’s plan, did you know that when you call on His name, He will provide the light to guide you out of the darkness into fellowship with Him? If you chose, were you aware that you were not able to fellowship with God there in the darkness?
Trevor's Thoughts 