Too much light can kill youÂ
Light is powerful, but dangerous at high levels.The wrong light waves can injure the skin cells and lead to cancer growths. Our bodies are designed to live in balance, and we reject experiences that move us out of balance for too long. God knows that we cant’t endure a steady stream of His presence this side of heaven. There are several times in the bible where people experienced too much of a good thing and had to retreat for a time to recover. Moses covered his face, which had become brightened by the close proximity to the Creator. Isaiah fell over at the sight of God, and had to be revived by an angel.Peter went into shock when Jesus took his humanity off and shined like a brilliant star on the mount of transfiguration. It is said that God lives in unapproachable light, and that to see Him directly is to forfeit your life. I addressed this in another chapter, and want you to know that God will not kill you if you see him face to face. It could be an amazing experience, one few people have had. Abraham was protected by a cave as God passed by him in all his glory. We need a sense of God’s presence in our lives daily, and we are called to practice the presence of God on a day to day basis. Ask God to give you all of His presence that you can stand. Seek daily connection and look to see Him in other believers, your inner spirit, the beauty of creation, music and words. He will always come to those who seek Him, and He will reveal to us what we need to see, and what we are able to handle at the time.
One person lost his sight temporarily as he was thrust into the presence of Jesus. Paul was totally committed to wiping out this new sect of Christ followers. As a dedicated Jew, he was going to every village, arresting, harassing, and punishing people who had made a commitment to this disgraced Jew called Jesus. Paul experienced Jesus’ presence on the road to Damascus as he was on his way to punish more Christ followers. Jesus stepped into our time and space, ablaze with the glory and power of heaven. Paul’s humanity could not handle it, and his eyes were damaged by the sight of Jesus. Paul spent several days in a visual haze until he experienced the full presence of God, giving him 20/20 physical and spiritual eyesight. The new testament hints that Paul carried some vision and eye health issues with him the rest of his life. This would become a physical reminder of the power of the holy, righteous, God of Light, and His powerful cleansing presence.
The human eye can only survive a certain level of light, they damage occurs. prolonged exposure can cause damage that creates dead spots in our retina.
God knows we are limited in our human abilities to absorb all of His holy, perfected presence. This side of heaven, we need to experience God in measured doses. He is able to show us more of his presence as we mature in or relationship with him, and grow in our ability to walk with Him in His light and presence. This is not an age thing by the way. New believers can experience the personal, powerful presence of God as they pursue Him with all their hearts. Occasionally, He will allow us to experience the brilliance of His powerful love, holiness, and power. This side of heaven, I trust Him to expose me to as much of Him as I need, and as much of Him as I want. There is a huge difference to those two options my friend. How much of Jesus do you really, I mean really want? What are you willing to trade to experience more of His presence? I started with 50%. I committed to watch 50% less tv and online media in order to pursue Him more deeply. Pick something, and pray about whether God is worth the trade. Spoiler alert, He is!!
Some people want to experience God 24/7, like some kind of cosmic high designed to lessen the pain of living this side of heaven. God isn’t interested in becoming our joy ride, emotional anesthesia, or spiritual meth. God desires to have a intimate, loving, deep, impactful relationship with us. That includes times of light, even bright, miraculous light. But the experience is not to be worshiped. That’s why He shares it with us in measured doses, according to His perfect plan. God knows our broken tendency to get used to things quickly, to the point where they lose their impact on us after a certain time and amount of exposure. God loves to surprise us with these holy glimpses of His powerful presence. They happen when we least expect (or demand) them. Some people are tempted to duplicate their own, personal, intimate experience, and they begin to dabble in unGodly experiences designed to replicate the single experience God intended for them. We long for freedom from pain, sorrow, loneliness, personal attacks, the pain of losing a loved one this side of heaven. God comes to us in our worst moments, dark moments when we can’t see a way out. It is in those moments we long for just a pin prick of his presence. You can see light easily in the dark. I can assure you that God is there, even if it is totally dark. He is always there, seeing you with eyes of love, encouragement, and hope. I know, I’ve been in total darkness, without hope, crushed by the lies of the accuser. In those moments, I prayed, cried, negotiated, surrendered, yelled, questioned, plotted, and gave up. God never left my side, His spirit loving, protecting, and guiding me as I suffered and begged for answers. In the moment I didn’t have an awareness of His presence, but I knew in my heart that He was present and powerful. The great truth here is that God is bigger than our deepest disappointment, loss, betrayal, or self inflicted pain. The God of light is nearest our hearts when it seems darkest. Nothing can stop Him when He deems it time to turn on the lights. Not even death can quench His brilliance! If our eternal future is to live in the light, then we need to make sure we experience all of His presence that we can, so as the dark times come, we will remember with joy the light of life who has promised to never forsake or abandon us. Our future is secure, The one who promises it is able to make it happen!
