Darkness lurks in this world, it lurks in our streets. It surrounds us. It’s almost as if the dead tree branches are reaching out for us, the weeds growing up around our legs; pulling us down. We stubbornly twist away from their grasp and try to go on alone. The shadows loom up in the mist like towering goblins ready to grab us. Sometimes we just sit to on the ground in defeat. With our hands over our ears, we rock back in forth trying to shut it out. Sometimes the fear is too much and we don’t know how to make it through the darkness anymore. It’s easier to give up..
Living in the light isn’t as easy as it sounds. Smiling at evil, praying for our enemies, and loving everyone like Jesus did. It’s hard, it doesn’t make sense. We want to rip through the evil with mighty swords, killing what isn’t good, destroying the things pulling us down. We want to be heroes. In the end, it’s about our pride, our shame, our fear.
Often we come to the conclusion: this worldly view won’t work. That repaying evil for evil will not teach our children a better way of life. That destroying those who get in our way to success, won’t make us feel better about ourselves. That cursing the
ones that hurt us, won’t heal our wounds. As we walk through the darkness, we realize the only way to get safely to the other side is to trust our savior. Yes, we may still look over our shoulder and get chills of fear; but we know that we are comforted.
Loving those who hurt us and praying for them, realizing they too come from brokenness and are dealing with it the only way they know how.
Hope that we can forgive because we were first forgiven…
I was assaulted on my way to work this week. It was still dark out and a man came up behind me, grabbing me. I was violated but able to scare him off; after yelling at him and pushing him away. He turned away from me and walked off. A mixture of emotion rose up inside. As I watched his tall figure disappear into the shadows, I debated running after him- Anger. Then I didn’t know what to do- confusion and shame. When the adrenaline wore off, I was shaking- fear. I prayed and walked on. It had happened so quickly that I didn’t even begin to process it.
God’s angels were around me and I am blessed that it wasn’t worse. It wasn’t me who scared him off, it was God. I pray for him, for the brokenness inside. But I am still human, and I am super disturbed and shaken.
And yes, I am looking over my shoulder a lot more.
What he did was wrong, plain and simple. But it happens to girls all over the world all day every day. Some are bought, some are not. It’s evil at it’s strongest. I have a heart for victims of injustices, especially sex slaves; and that was what was attacked. Evil knows our weaknesses and aims for them.
God is bigger, the light is stronger.
Praise Him for the things that happen in our lives. He redeems them all. How do we change our reactions to the evil and allow that goodness to flow?
