And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 1:6).
" + "The temptation to fear, or to be afraid, is all around us. We fear abandonment and rejection, being alone. Or, we fear acceptance. We fear loss of family and friends. We fear evaluation, or being in the spotlight. We fear losing our jobs. Or, we fear responsibility. We fear losing control. We fear harm and suffering. We fear death. We fear love. We fear our reaction to fear. Sometimes, we even fear God in the distrustful sense: we fear God’s truthfulness, that is, whether or not God’s Word to us is Truth or a bunch of lies. And, we fear the tremendous responsibilities being children of God places before us. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are afraid of the dark. Our fears of all the mentioned things and so many more represent our agreement with a spirit that God has not given us (2 Timothy 1:7).
" + "The truth is that some part of all of us still believes that we can deal with darkness artificially: for us, it is as simple as flicking the light switch. Once we do this, the darkness fades and light is all about us. In this case, both the darkness and the light are artificial. The ease with which we light our homes, workplaces, meeting places, and churches enables a sinister confusion in us. Because we are able to deal so quickly and effectively with the darkness in our given surroundings, we think that we can deal just as quickly with the darkness in us, if we even deal with it all. For, let’s be honest, some of us enjoy being in darkness: blinds are kept drawn and lights are kept off. So, one the one hand, we are afraid of the dark. On the other hand, we—to some degree—respect the dark: we value it; we honor it; we want it; we have a holy fear of the dark.
" + "Make no mistake, our agreement with fear cripples. Fear prevents us from doing what God calls us to do; it imprisons us in the darkness of hate, judgment and torment (1 John 4:18); it authors confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). This is precisely what Jude sought to tell his community and us. What a pitiless situation it is for those who God calls to so much greater to be temporally and eternally restricted to so much less! Jude reminds us that not all the people saved out of Egypt remained saved; some were destroyed for their unbelief. Even the angels, who craved darkness, were given darkness. Be not deceived, brothers and sisters. So it is with us.
" + "Ours is not a "Mary Poppins" faith. We are not a pilgrim people, sojourning in this world with baggage that contains what we think we need for every situation. Rather, we are a pilgrim people called by God to use what He has given us to be as Christ is in the world (1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 5:22 – 23). Let’s not forget that when Jesus commissioned the twelve in Mark 6:7 – 10, he told them to take nothing with them save a staff, the shirts on their backs, and the shoes on their feet. What are we carrying around needlessly? What’s our baggage? We must fear—love, believe, trust, obey—God and God alone; for, this fear of God, who we cannot see disables our fear of what we do see. In the face of what we see, hear, taste, touch, smell, and feel, our fear of God reminds us that sin is already condemned, death is already dead, and Satan is already defeated.
" + "John reminds us that "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). If we are truly in God and God is in us, the same must be true for us. Our fear of the dark blinds us to this and keeps us in chains. Nevertheless we must focus on the light that shines on in the darkness and is not overcome by it. We must not be deceived by the artificiality with which we deal with the darkness in our surroundings and be complacent about the darkness still in us. Fear not, brothers and sisters! Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27)! God is always with us. Are we with Him? If we orient ourselves to God’s continual presence with, for, and in us, we shall not fear what any man or demon can do to us (Hebrews 13:5 – 6). Let us look not to light switches, but let us resolve to let our lights shine (Matthew 5:16). Let us resolve to fear God, so that we do not have to afraid of the dark anymore (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5 – 6; Isaiah 40:28 – 31; Isaiah: 41:13 – 20; Isaiah 43:1; Jeremiah 1:1 – 10; Mark 5:36; Luke 8:50; John 14:1, 27; 1 John 4:16 – 21; 2 Timothy 1:7). May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all!
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