Episode 72

Last week my girlfriend sent me an intriguing image of a man’s hand holding a lit match. What made the image so fascinating was the fact that—even though the man’s hand cast a bold, dark shadow on the wall barely an inch behind him—the flame on top of the match did not cast a shadow. The crazy thing is, if you merely looked at the shadow, you wouldn’t know that the match was lit. There is no darkness in light, none at all. A flame cannot even cast a shadow. Today’s declaration is the truth.

Nothing can overshadow you to a point where it dims the brightness of Christ in you.

I can’t help but think of Psalm 23. You may already know what that familiar psalm says about shadows. Verse 4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (NKJV)

We may walk through shadows, but the light of Christ will chase them away. 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” (NLT)

And Psalm 139:12 says, “even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (NIV)

You may have to walk through some pretty dark moments, my friend. But the darkness does not have the power to overcome the light that is in you. Just as the flame on the tip of a match does not cast a shadow, nothing can keep the light within you from chasing away every shadow that falls on your path.

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week’s scripture: John 1:1-5