How to Overcome Spiritual Darkness
When learning how to overcome spiritual darkness, good versus evil plays out on movie screens and inside your heart. Just know that everyone encounters dark nights of the soul.
George Lucas captured on film how easy it is to deceive. Palpatine, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious deceived Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader. The death lord convinces Anakin that if he goes to the dark side, he can cheat death and stop others from dying. That appealed to Anakin because he dreamed his wife, Patme would die. She did.
Palpatine lied to him.
If you’ve been a Christian for an hour or less, Satan whispers deception in your ear. He’s the number one enemy of your heart and ALWAYS appears as an angel of light. He lies like the fictional character Palpatine did to Anakin. Satan turns you from light—God—and makes darkness appealing. His plan works because Christians symbolically put on the Darth Vader mask every time they sin.
Except, Jesus pulled each Christian out of the clutches of darkness.
Ephesians 5:8 – For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.
You’re a new creature in Christ.
How to Overcome Spiritual Darkness
It’s no surprise that your flesh likes to sin. Left to itself, you’d watch porn and kick your dog and cat. Your flesh likes to claw its way to the top.
To stay close to Jesus day in and day out takes effort. To surrender your will to God and feed your spirit food from heaven takes determination.
Going deeper with God feels like surfing without a board, hands, or feet. How do you stay focused on your invisible God when the world entices you to neglect Him?
Every thought against a loving God is a cleverly-designed scheme. Lies sent from hell derail the plans God designs exclusively for you. To stay connected to God—your life source—your flesh convinces you there’s too much to give up. Your spirit wants to serve God while your body doesn’t.
Jesus took your sins to free you from eternal death when you accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Your body has other ideas.
Galatians 5:17 – The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces fight constantly against each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
That’s how Christians get into trouble and experience the effects of spiritual darkness. They bow to their bodies.
What Is Spiritual Darkness?
Satan wants you to believe there’s a dark side to Christianity so you don’t enjoy God’s presence. He says you look stupid among your peers when living your Christian faith. If you’re radical for Jesus, some people assume you whack out on drugs or need therapy.
What do you think about when you awake? Is it God, things, or something else? Raw honesty determines what type of evil entertains your thoughts. Ask yourself this question.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 designating the brightest light, how much light dwells inside you? Do you seek out the things of God that light your way to righteousness? How satisfied would you be if God was the only one you sought after?
Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Evil comes closer if you let it but you have power over darkness. The Holy Spirit lives inside you and is your go-to helper. You also have a champion in heaven, your advocate—Jesus. Remember – John 6:63 – The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing.”
Stop Spiritual Darkness
You’re a child of light.
John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
So why turn away from God when difficult times come? Instead, combat Satan’s plan to kill, steal, and destroy. Implement these simple steps on how to overcome spiritual darkness and notice how quickly Satan fades from view.
- Dismiss your flesh. Sure, it seems like you’re trapped in your body. When you authorize your spirit to reign over your body, you stop it from dictating your next steps. Don’t wait until the end of the day to put your flesh in its place. Dismiss its power over you first thing, when your feet hit the floor.
- Run, don’t walk, toward God. If you get a sinking feeling you’re ready to fall into a pit of despair, grab your Bible. Pray or speak scripture for as long as it takes to overcome evil. God is your only true source to confront the spiritual forces of darkness.
- Get good at staying in Satan’s face. The next time satan offers you a substitutionary plan remind him you came from darkness to light. You have no intentions to return to the dark side.
- Stay prayed up and fed up. Sometimes Christians think they can coast along without keeping their spirits full of God’s Word. Feed your spirit and pray daily to counteract evil forces that get a foothold in your life.
- Resolve in your heart to connect with God. You won’t connect with God unless He’s your central focus and priority.
- Determine what leads you into darkness. Satan knows your triggers – those things you succumb to that invite sin. Identify what they are to stay ahead of the enemy.
- Find life through death. In a human’s mind, death sounds so final, so uninviting. When I FINALLY learned to die to self, that’s when my spiritual growth skyrocketed. God became so huge in my heart that He pushed out everything that got in the way.
How to Overcome Spiritual Darkness: Stay on God’s Path
Listen for the Holy Spirit to reveal steps of faith He wants you to act on. Don’t sluff off His holy thoughts. Know how Satan prompts you to entertain darkness. Then, guard your heart because that’s his prime target. Just as evil forces sidetracked Anakin, he ultimately escaped the dark side by not letting darkness reign. Light overcomes darkness, every time.
God made you to shine for Him. So shine brother and sister. Go light up the world.