Step into the Light
“It'd make some sense, if some was made to me
Sometimes I don't see love in anything
And just when I surrender to my shadow
I snap out of it, and step into the light
I step back into the light”
Above are the words from a song by The Avett Brothers. The song is entitled, “Back into the Light” and it paints a sad, painful, true, and yet hopeful picture of a person suffering addiction. Addiction especially sexual addiction is like a mold or fungus growing in a cold, damp, dark place; it abhors the light and thrives in darkness. Therefore as the song says, instead of surrendering to the shadows of life, one must step back into the light.
To step into the light means that at one time we were in darkness. Many things may bring us into darkness, even the song points out the “wounds” that we receive in this life. And the point is not what got us into the darkness, but our willingness to “snap out of it, and step into the light.”
To step into the light means to live a true and authentic life. Let that idea sit with you for a moment. For the one that is struggling against the spiritual malady of sex/porn addiction, authenticity is hard to come by. For if one allowed an outsider to see the “real self,” there is fear that they would recoil in horror. Then there would be just overwhelming shame, which is too much to bear. Therefore, selfishly the self is hidden in the shadows, in the darkness, and the mold, the sickness grows.
To step into the light means to spiritually walk honestly submitting to the Savior that only walks in the light. Consider the words of the Apostle John who often talked about the importance of Light.
1 John 1:5-7 (ESV) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But 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.
Go back read that again, and again for the third time. Did you catch some or all of what John has said? Firstly, to walk in the light requires honesty and truth. We cannot lie, even to ourselves, but instead, be truthful. Stop the hiding! It’s safe out here in the light because look who is out here also, the Lord is! When we step into the light we never walk alone, we walk with the Lord, and we have fellowship, belonging, value, worth, and love with him. So while what kept us in the dark was fear that we wouldn’t be accepted, that we were unlovable, the truth in the light is far different than the lies we tell ourselves in the dark.
Right now is the best time to “snap out of it, and step into the light. Step back into the light.” Surrender not to the shadows but the Savior. Open up the curtains and blackout shades you have pulled down on your soul and let the light from above flood your soul and pour on your life. Share with the Lord your struggles as you walk hand in hand. And be willing to show your true authentic self to others, no more hiding in the dark.
Step back into the light.
- author anonymous
