The Switch

As I’m writing this, it’s Santa Ana season here in Southern California. The Santa Ana winds can be strong and dangerous as they come from the desert and blow out to the Pacific Ocean. When the danger is highest, the utility companies can temporarily cut off electricity to certain areas where power lines could be knocked down and start a wildfire.

We’ve all experienced the electricity going off in our homes. If it lasts until the evening, and you’re like me, the first hour or so makes me think quaint thoughts like, “This is how all of my ancestors lived for thousands of years. I’ll just go find my candles and read a book and savor the experience.” Well…it doesn’t take long before the novelty wears off. After I’ve read for a while, I think about what to do next. Since I don’t knit or crochet like many of them did, I run down the list of possibilities and it hits me how dependent all of us are on electricity. I begin to understand where the old farm saying about “going to bed with the chickens” comes from. Why sit in the dark? So I go to bed like a chicken, earlier than I ever do otherwise.

But there’s more for us to think about here. We need light to see and a source of power to generate it. 

The other day, I stopped by one of those “Amazon returns” stores and everything was $8. I saw a desk lamp that made me think of a friend that reads a lot without great lighting, so I got it for her. She was amazed at the difference and wished she had made the change a long time ago!

We can get used to where we are and not realize there is more. MUCH more!

If you don’t believe in God, life is like the power outage. He is missing in your life. His light, His strength, His love and so much more. You can’t know you’re “sitting in the dark” if you haven’t experienced the difference true light can make.

If you’re a Christian, life can become like reading in dim light. You may have grown used to getting by with less instead of more, even though it is available.

Two verses come to mind when I think of light:

“Again 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.’”  John 8:12 (NLT)

The other is this: 

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”  Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

In both verses, the light is a symbol of truth to see by. Jesus came to bring the truth to the world about God, His Father, and how we can know Him. God’s Word, the Bible, is the truth written down for us to guide and clearly show us what the best path for our life is from here to eternity.

God Himself generates the power for the light that shows us the truth.

RESET HIGHER: Are you living without God in a dark place today? You can turn on the light right now by praying to God to come into your life and begin reading the Bible. Start with the book of John and you will find Him there, especially in John 3:16.

Are you already a Christian, but the light in your life has dimmed? You can make it brighter and better again by getting back to spending time reading your Bible, in prayer, listening to a podcast sermon, worship music, and finding friends in a small group. It’s all there, ready for you to turn on the switch!