Danger in the Darkness

My boys and I recently put up a trail camera where we hunt on our family farm. When we found pictures of loads of deer we were excited at the prospect of this year's gun season for deer hunting. What caused us a great deal of concern was when we scrolled through the pictures and found images of two large coyotes. I'm not worried about the coyotes bothering the deer because of the nature of the deer. What I am concerned about is the coyotes attacking our cattle and possibly killing some of our calves. We had a calf die just last year and suspected a coyote killed it but we didn't know for sure. These coyotes can cause many problems for us. Everything from scaring the deer away, killing calves, or even possibly harming children walking around the farm. The photos our trail camera took show just how much danger there is in the darkness.

When we look at our spiritual lives, there are dangers in spiritually dark areas that are far worse than a couple of coyotes. For the follower of Christ, Satan uses every sin he can to try and draw us away from God and into those spiritually dark areas. When he is successful, there is all sorts of collateral damage done. Our witness or testimony can be damaged or possibly ruined. Our relationship with God and with others can be damaged. We can even find ourselves being sucked in deeper and deeper into sin that will make it harder and harder to turn away from the sin and back to God (the Bible calls this repentance). 

For the ones who do not have a personal relationship with Christ, the dangers in the darkness are even more lethal. Those sins that Satan uses to keep you captive to sin, they keep you from experiencing the freedom from sin that God offers you through Jesus. If Satan keeps you distracted by sin long enough and you don't experience salvation through Christ in this life, those sins will prove to be spiritually and eternally lethal. The dangers in the spiritual darkness for a non-believer in Christ is best explained as a pit of quicksand. You're already in the pit of sin and the more you struggle trying to free yourself the worse your situation becomes. The more you struggle the deeper in the pit you go. The only way you are able to get out of the pit is if you have Someone's help to get out. Jesus is the One who can pull you out of the pit, clean you up, and set you on solid ground. Satan will do all he can to convince you that you can get out of the pit yourself or try to keep you struggling in the pit so that you never try to get out. The good thing is Jesus knows you can't get out of the pit yourself and He is always ready to give you a hand to get you out. Reach out to Him today and allow Him to lift you out of the pit of sin if you've never asked Him to do so before (you can get more info at PeaceWithGod.net or by clicking here).

For those who follow Christ and are struggling with the dangers in the darkness, I would encourage you to do the same thing I've started doing on our farm. Every time I go to check my trail camera or put out more deer corn, I carry a rifle with me. I have something with me to take action against the danger I face. The weapons you need to use to protect yourself and help you get out of the spiritual darkness you find yourself in are prayer, Bible study, and worship. Spend time in prayer confessing your sins to God and repenting. Spend time searching the scriptures for what God says about the sins you are struggling with. Make sure not to neglect the time you should spend worshiping God with other believers. Not that it will necessarily be an easy trip out of the darkness, but if you make these a part of your spiritual life, then you will find it much easier to deal with the dangers in the darkness.


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