Light Begets Fearlessness

As my custom has always been, I’d like to start up this write up with a thought that sums up the entire post:

“Being the light of the world according to the blessed pronouncement of Jesus has supernaturally endowed the born again with the Spirit of fearlessness – #ProsperAnangQuotes

Before Jesus came to earth He knew exactly what He was going to stand up to – darkness. That’s why one of the things He didn’t lose sight of was His supernatural identity. His identity was something He didn’t make light of. He embraced it, understood, lived it, talked about it, and demonstrated it.

In the midst of a world and system that was deeply engulfed with extreme darkness, Jesus bluntly told His followers, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life”1.

Did you see that? He said this even when He understood how much of the world was engulfed with darkness. He didn’t only claim to be the light of the world, but He also invited people to follow Him in order to guarantee that they never walked again in darkness. That’s why He said, “…If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life”2.

The implication of what Jesus said here is that walking in the light keeps you out of darkness, in spite of the intensity of the darkness. In other words, followers of Jesus aren’t influenced by the negative state of their environment. Hallelujah!

In another instance, Jesus made the same claim regarding His supernatural identity as the light of the world. Here’s what He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE. No one can come to the Father except through me”3.

In John 8:12 Jesus said He’s the light of the world, and that people who follow Him (the light) wouldn’t have to walk in darkness because they have the light that leads to life. Now, in John 14:6, He says He’s that life. Hallelujah! So, as the light of the world, Jesus’ ultimate purpose is to lead His followers to a point where they’ll have an encounter with His very life.

See the connection between Jesus’ life and light, in the Gospel according to Saint John. Speaking about Jesus being the Word, John says, “The Word gave LIFE to everything that was created, and HIS LIFE brought LIGHT to everyone”4.

Did you see that? Jesus is the Word (God) that was made flesh to dwell among men in the midst of gross darkness. His actual reason for coming was to share His life with mankind, to make man be a partaker of His life, otherwise referred to as the divine nature. For that to be done, He had to allow that life to die first, buried for three days, and then resurrect.

So, while on earth, He couldn’t give anyone His life. That’s why He introduced Himself more as the light of the world. This implied He had come as a source of supernatural enlightenment for mankind, in order to open up people’s mind to embrace His life when it would be available. That was the essence of His continued teaching habit for three years plus, to have the understanding of His followers enlightened to accept His life.

Before letting His followers know that He was and still is, the light of the world, He bluntly told them that there was absolutely no reason to fear. Here’s how He put it: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me”5.

It’s just a normal thing to live in fear when people are in darkness. Those of you in the western part of the world won’t understand this. In Africa, especially where I’m based presently, we’re used to darkness (the absence of physical light generated by electricity). We spend most of our nights without light, and sometimes, especially for those who aren’t used to the situation, it’s scaring. In such a state of physical darkness, the obvious emotion to exhibit is fearfulness.

But I’m not talking about physical but spiritual darkness. Jesus said to His followers, let your heart not be in fear. He told them exactly what they were to do: “…believe in ME”6. Believing in Jesus means they were to cultivate an attitude of Jesus (light)-consciousness.

As Jesus was getting closer to exiting the earth literally, He told His followers that they shared the same supernatural identity with Him. Here’s what He told them: “YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD —like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden”7.

Jesus is saying the same thing to you today – you’re the light of the world. You’re a city that’s built on a hilltop; you can’t be hidden. This is the light that keeps a man out of the darkness and eventually out of fearfulness. This is the light that comes with fearlessness. It’s the knowledge of your supernatural identity with Jesus, in the light of God’s Word. In spite of your environment, you’re the light because you walk in the knowledge from God’s Word that you share the same supernatural identity with Jesus. That’s enough to keep fear out of your life.

David caught the light of something Jesus would say several years before Jesus was born literally. He saw God as His light, and that was the reason that he couldn’t just be afraid. David leaves us with a connection between LIGHT and FEARLESSNESS. David said, “THE LORD IS MY LIGHT and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”8

According to David’s statement in this verse, fearfulness and walking in the light are parallel lines which can never meet with each other. One thing about fear is that it’s synonymous with stumbling, and it takes a person to stumble before they can fall. It’s a lot easier to fall when one walks or lives in fear. This is so because fear is synonymous with darkness. It was with this understanding that Jesus said, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness”9.

David went on to say, “When evil people come to devour me when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident”10.

What on earth prompted David to say this? It must have been the light he caught in the first verse: “THE LORD IS MY LIGHT and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?

David recognised that in spite of the intensity of his situation, he dwelt in God’s light – the safest place on earth. While there, there was no point being afraid given that fear doesn’t thrive in light, it only does in darkness.

The reason that people are defeated in life is that they fight in darkness – fear. This explains why the Bible specifically teaches that the only kind of fight the New Creation should indulge in should be the “good fight of faith”11.

This is a kind of fight that’s fought in the light; meaning it’s fought in fearlessness. Again, David reveals the secret of his fearlessness in spite of the surging pressure stemming from enemy activities – his light walk. To David, the enemy’s presence and activities didn’t really matter; what counted the most was the intensity of God’s light he had generated for himself through his knowledge of the Word.

David had so much saturated himself and household with God’s light through the Word, that he could declare fearlessly that, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings”12.
Hallelujah!

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” 13.

Scripture References
1. John 8:12 [NLT]
2. John 8:12 [NLT]
3. John 14:6 [NLT]
4. John 1:4 [NLT]
5. John 14:1 [NLT]
6. John 14:1
7. Matthew 5:14 [NLT]
8. Psalm 27:1 [NLT]
9. John 8:12 [NLT]
10. Psalm 27:2-3 [NLT]
11. 1Timothy 6:12
12. Psalms 23:4-5 [NLT]1

13. 2Timothy 1:7 [ESV]

I trust this post has blessed you. Please, take out time to share your testimony with me to God’s glory by sending me a direct email to ncrealities_pab@yahoo.com

You’re deeply loved, highly favoured and greatly blessed because you’re God’s righteousness in Christ and a life-giving spirit just like Jesus.

Jesus is alive!