Drive Darkness From Your Life

          Moments of darkness and opposition come.  Sometimes they stay a long time.  At times we may wonder about the best way to cope.  Is it better to sit tight and wait patiently for it to pass, or is it better to get up and do something about it?  Should we change things about our lives or rely in faith on the Lord?  Do we actually have any control of it, or is it something God only has control of?  At times darkness can seem to overpower us, but we should not be discouraged.

          The way to drive darkness out of your life is the same way you remove darkness from a pitch black room.  As hard as you might try to scoop it up in buckets and shovel it out the door, to coerce it into leaving, or to physically remove it in some other way, all your well-intentioned efforts are doomed to be met with frustration.  Yet the very moment you turn on the light, the darkness vanishes.  Instantly.  Isn't that how it is in life?  We struggle so hard to make the darkness, the opposition, both spiritual and physical, to go away.  Yet the single most consistent way of making it leave is to flood our lives with light.

          Moses provides a prime example of this.  Confronted with darkness in a very real, and vivid sense.  "Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.  And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength (Moses 1:19-20 emphasis added)."

          The way to rid your life of darkness is to flood it with light.  It is a light you can feel as you read the scriptures, listen to the prophets, or ponder on the things of eternity.  It comes as we act in faith on the promptings of the Spirit, exercise power, and attend the temple.  It shines from family history, selfless service and concern for others, and from priesthood ordinances.  It comes especially from keeping covenants.

          Some of that light is a part of who we are.  We let is so shine before men so that they may use that light to cast away their own darkness.  So many times, when we need it, they will do the same for us.

          Often, increased opposition follows those who are offering the most resistance to the darkness of the world.  The spiritual component of that opposition is not to be endured, but rather to be expelled.  The trials that consist of temporal or emotional circumstance are to be endured, but that can happen with peace if the conscience is pure, and they can end quickly if we are patient.  Long-term tests of faith constitute an opportunity to bind ourselves to the Lord at all hazards.  Short-term decreases in spiritual power are to be seen as an opportunity to move forward in the service of God.  All of these forces have the cumulative effect of making us polished shafts in the quiver of the Almighty, if that is what is most important to us.  And it should be.

          For some reason, there is a common consensus that although we covenant each week to always remember the Savior, we won't actually do it.  I wonder what the impact on our lives would be if we actually believed that we would.

          This post is designed for a very specific group of people.  The people who understand the things that I write about will have power to act on them and make them a part of their life.  Jesus Christ, the light of the world, shines through each of us.  If we as a people bring our eye single to the glory of God, the whole Earth will be filled with Light.