Turn Up Your Light: Walking Wisely in Evil Days

Have you ever found yourself in complete darkness? I mean the kind of darkness where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face? My wife and I once visited caverns where they turned off all the lights when we were 90 feet underground. When someone lit just a small lighter, it seemed blindingly bright in that absolute darkness. That’s the power of even the smallest light.

But here’s my question for you today: In a world growing increasingly dark, are you dimming your light or turning it up?

Positioned for Purpose

In Ephesians, Paul reminds us of our incredible position in Christ. “Right now, I’ve positioned you in the kingdom with me. I positioned you in the throne room with me. That you are seated in the heavenly places with Jesus.” What a better place to be! When you’re seated at the “big people’s table,” you get to hear all the good conversations.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how we’ve crossed a bridge—a bridge that took us from death to life, from no hope to hope, from despair to a future with Him, from war to peace. Not an absence of war, but peace in the middle of it.

But in Ephesians 5, Paul takes another turn. He’s still helping us understand our position, but now he focuses on how we should walk in this world.

A Warning for Evil Days

Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Look carefully then how you walk not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time because the days are evil.”

Have you turned on the news recently? Have you gone shopping somewhere? Have you experienced anybody in the last couple of days? The days are evil. There is so much garbage out there. And I wonder if Paul was here today if he’d say, “Man, they’re super evil today.”

The craziness emerging in our world today is evil. It’s not just people “trying to find their own way.” It’s evil because it distorts truth. And anytime something distorts the truth, it’s evil because that’s exactly what the enemy does—he distorts truth.

Be Wise in How You Walk

When my wife and I go mountain climbing, our instructor taught us to always maintain “three points of contact”—two feet and a hand, two hands and a foot, whatever it takes. If you have three points, you’re going to make it. (I could preach that one—the trinity right there. If you got three points, you can make it!)

But one of the most important lessons was to stop and look before proceeding. “Look down this thing. How are you going to do it?” she would say. We would talk through the process, identify handholds and footholds, spot the danger areas.

That’s exactly what Paul means when he says to be wise in how you walk. As Christians, we must look around. We must assess the situation, identify the real dangers, find the safe spots, and know where we shouldn’t go.

From Darkness to Light

Paul continues in Ephesians 5:8: “For at one time you were darkness.” Notice he doesn’t say you were “in darkness”—he says you “were darkness.” Own that. Understand that’s who you were before you met Jesus Christ.

“But now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

This is powerful! You are no longer darkness—you are light. There’s a power about you that has overcome the darkness. Everything you once were—darkness—is supposed to be destroyed by the light.

When I turn on the lights, what happens to darkness? It’s simple—it goes away. Light has all the power. Darkness has to flee. What is in you right now is the power to eliminate every dark area of your life.

The Subtle Lies We Believe

The enemy is subtle. He wants to twist the truth just enough to keep us in darkness. Those lies we believe about ourselves, our relationships, our worth, our purpose—they’re areas of darkness in our lives.

I deal with this all the time in counseling. I can’t think of one time somebody’s come to me and they hadn’t bought into a lie. Whether in their marriage, relationships, work, or any part of their situation, they had believed something that wasn’t true.

Even in ministry with the purest heart, the enemy wants to twist things just enough. We put in all that work for our homeless ministry, preparing 300 meals, only to find another organization there “stealing our people.” It’s easy to get frustrated—but that frustration comes from believing a subtle lie about what “success” looks like in ministry.

Exposing Darkness to Light

Ephesians 5:13-14 says, “But when anything is exposed by light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light.”

What we have to do to get rid of the darkness in our lives is to expose it to light. We have to be honest with ourselves—the hardest thing we’ll ever do. Maybe there are dark areas in my thinking. Maybe there are areas where I’ve allowed the enemy to lie to me, and I begin to justify or say “that’s just who I am.”

One of my own struggles? When someone says to me, “Hey, can we talk?”—my first response is to think I’ve done something wrong. That’s darkness dealing with inferiority, thinking I’m not good enough. So what do I do? I go right to the Word. I go right to the light. I expose that darkness because I know if I don’t turn the light back on, it will overtake me.

Life Application: Turn Up Your Light

As the days get darker, what should we do? We need to get brighter! I can’t stay the 10-watt bulb any longer. I need to amp myself up to a 50-watt LED bulb. I need to increase my light because the days are getting darker.

Here are some practical steps to turn up your light:

1. Identify the Lies

Take time to reflect on what you believe about yourself, others, and God. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any lies you’ve been believing, both big and small.

2. Expose Them to Truth

For every lie you identify, find Scripture that counters it. Write these truths down and meditate on them daily.

3. Confess to Others

James tells us to “confess your sins to one another and you will be healed.” Sharing our struggles with trusted believers exposes darkness to light.

4. Eliminate Darkness from Your Life

Be honest about what you watch, listen to, and participate in. If you wouldn’t do it with Jesus sitting next to you, it’s probably darkness.

5. Press On Toward the Light

Like Paul said, “This one thing I do, I push forward. I press on.” Keep climbing that mountain even when you’re in the fog, because just one more step might bring you above the clouds.

Some of you are wondering, “Is the sun even out? I’ve been in the darkness so long. I’ve been in the fog so long. I’ve been believing these lies my whole life.” God says, “Just take one more step. You can get out of the clouds.”

Today is the day to turn that light on. Today’s the day to find the truth.