When Light Repels
By Andrea Chatelain
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
My Freshman year of college, I hid in the dark instead of being free in the light. I stopped going to church. Every time I went, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I needed to stop my rebellious behavior and start following God. And I didn’t want to. I wanted to have fun and be free to do whatever I wanted.
When we’re surrounded with people who delight in sinful behavior instead of Jesus, we can get lost in the darkness. We start to believe our culture’s temporary fixes are the only things worth living for. But they are just that—temporary highs. What we need is the never changing truth of Jesus’ love for us to shine a new stable path for our feet.
I’m so thankful God didn’t give up on me when I was running the wrong direction. Instead, He introduced me to a boy who loved Jesus. A boy who became my husband. Dirk invited me to Bible study at a welcoming church. At first, I went because my new boyfriend was cute and I wanted to spend time with him. But then God got ahold of my heart as I started reading through the book of 1 John. I heard of God’s love for His people and accepted His Word and leadership.
The more I started following Jesus, the less I wanted to have anything to do with the things of my past. I started to crave God-honoring things and relationships. Let’s be clear, this side of heaven, I will battle sin every day. But praise God He can change my—our—destructive paths to those of goodness when we choose to follow His light.
Andrea Chatelain’s mission is to meet women in their struggles and love them forward with God’s truth. She's part of the Wholly Loved Ministries team, is a Midwest mom of three, faith and family writer, and college English instructor to immigrants and refugees. It’s her joy to lead Bible studies in her neighborhood, church, and community because she believes Jesus transforms lives when His people boldly seek Him. Her writing reflects her love for Jesus and heart for fellow believers. Connect with Andrea more online at www.afruitfulwoman.com.
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