1 John 1:5-7 “5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another*, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Walk in the light as He is in the light. Many Christians believe they are walking in the light, and this is not to downgrade, criticize or judge them. This comes from experience and my broken relationship with Jesus Christ. To be honest, I thought I was right with Jesus, but my brokenness blinded me and kept me from seeing the truth for many years. The abuse and the fantasy world I lived in, allowed the devil to deceive me and keep me in darkness.
It is like a mirror that is perfect, but every time we experience hurt in this life, it causes another fracture in the mirror and perverts our perception. We can no longer see clearly. No matter what we believe, no matter how “right” we think we are, the abuse, trauma, hurt, betrayal in life, distorts our vision. When we refuse to face and acknowledge that we have experienced pain from some area of life, we won’t recognize that we need healing.
Jesus came to this earth to die for us. To pay the penalty for our sins, but also so we can be healed, to have life abundantly, to know His joy and peace beyond measure. When going through abuse, it is hard to see past the pain. Usually, we are so busy trying to survive each day, that all dreams and hope for a better life seem to fade away beyond our grasp.
That is where a relationship with Jesus can change everything. The abuse in my life seemed to never end, but in the midst of all of it, this God held out His powerful right hand to me. He dreamed for me and had a plan for my life that never would have been possible if not for Him. I had to learn to trust Him enough for Him to lead me through the excruciating, horrendous pain of the healing process. I can’t say that I fully trusted Him, but day by day, little by little, He led me through it. He made it possible for me to make it through the storm.
And also, to take me to the place where He could take the scales off my eyes and help me see the lies and deception of the enemy. He started showing me how to live life outside the abuse. As I have learned to trust Jesus, I’ve been able to learn the process of being able to submit, surrender, yield and obey Him. Even though the healing process was extremely painfilled, I learned that Jesus wasn’t hurting me as the people in my life had done. He was making the way for me to have life! I was also wrapped up in so much fear that it has taken a long time to get here, but He never left me. He was faithful when I wasn’t.
This picture of the plant in this article, is indicative of how I see my life now. I’ve had this plant for a few years, just about like I’ve “known” Jesus for a few years. Until recently, I have never seen flowers blooming on this plant. I never really saw “life” outside of the abuse until recently. I couldn’t see I was walking in darkness until I truly repented of my sins. Not what everybody else had done, but what I had done. I was not able to repent, until I learned to forgive those who had hurt me. Each step has been a process, but even if it takes you longer to go through then others, don’t give up. The more we can get past our “feelings” and learn to do what God’s Word says, the faster we can heal and see growth in our lives and learn to walk in His peace.
I hope you notice in the Scripture quoted at the beginning of this article, that in the last verse it says; “…and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” We become so blinded by the hurt that we don’t see the Blood of Jesus, the Blood that cleanses us from all sin. Our sin. To cleanse means to purify. It washes away the filth, the lies of the devil, the hurt…and it allows us to walk in the righteous ways of our Savior so that we can spend eternity with Him.
In the Light as He is in the Light
