Spoiler Alert...

Welcome to October! (How is this year flying by SO fast?!)  I love this time of year...the changing leaves, the cooler temperatures (and gaining an extra hour of sleep when Daylight Savings Time ends, woohoo!) But, the creepy, gory, scary stuff that seems to be everywhere this time of year? Nah, I'm not a fan of that at all. 

The month of October is often associated with darkness, not just from the sun setting earlier. There's also a cultural focus on things like fear, death, and darkness. You won’t hear us celebrating that (as my family always says, "The only ghost welcome here is the Holy Ghost!") because we know the One who overcomes the scary & sinister things - Jesus! HE is the Light of the world, and no matter how dark the world gets, He's still brighter & bigger. 

In John 8:12 (NLT), Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” The light of Christ always brings clarity where there’s confusion, peace where there’s fear, and hope where there’s despair. Scary things are going to happen around us, but they don't have to cause fear within us, because God hasn't given us a spirit of fear! (1 Timothy 2:7) 

We’ve all walked through seasons that felt dark — depression, loss, uncertainty, sin we couldn’t shake and the shame that followed. But darkness & despair do NOT get the final word in our lives! Even in the darkest night, light can’t be hidden. Think of a single candle in a pitch-black room — the flame always wins. And so does Jesus. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:5, NLT) 

The world around us feels so heavy and so dark lately. Some days, there's so much darkness that it seems like evil is winning. But, we KNOW who wins in the end, and spoiler alert: it isn't the enemy or his evil forces. Jesus will have the final victory. In the meantime, remember that you're not in this fight alone - Jesus is right here to strengthen, calm & comfort you. Just like a city on a hill can't be hidden, nothing nor no one can stop the shine of His light in you and through you!