(The winner of The Jesus I Never Knew is at the end of the post!)
Sometimes darkness sneaks inside my spirit. It circles my brain like a cloud of smoke, pours through my thoughts, and settles inside the crevices of my humanity.
The darkness threatens my joy.
It sucks the energy out of me.
And it leads me to the pantry in search of potato chips.
Yet the darkness can only live in me as long as I agree with its negativity and follow its cravings.
But Jesus.
The darkness does not live inside of me. Jesus does. And He is the LIGHT.
The joy of the holidays is not experienced by all, and I would dare to guess that ninety-eight percent of us experience a few if not many soul shadows during this season.
Grief haunts some of us as we try to celebrate without a loved one this year or for the twentieth year. A hole in our heart remains for his or her presence. Some of us grieve health. Some grieve lost dreams. While others fight the battle of loneliness.
And some of us are just simply overwhelmed. The demands of life and the extras of Christmas darken our spirits rather than make them shiny.
Whether you are among the two percent who experience joy all through December or you can relate to the soul shadows, I hope the Bite of Bread will bless you this week as we are reminded who our Light is and that we too are a light to the world because of Him.
Let your light shine my friends. Blow away the dark clouds with His Truth.
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness cannot overpower it” (John 1:5 ESV).
I’m so thankful for the birth of the Light of the World.
If you struggle with soul shadows threatening your joy this Christmas, please journal them. Deposit them on the blank pages. Give them to God then write the verse for the day. Write a prayer of thanksgiving for that Truth you recorded, then shut your journal and walk away knowing that He’s got your darkness. It no longer lives in you. His Word does.
Much love!
ps. And the winner is. . .
Sondra Dronn! Congratulations Sondra! Thank you to everyone who participated.
