Darkness you can Feel

Scripture: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived. Exodus 10:21-23

Observation: As the nineth plague, the Lord brings darkness to Egypt. This is, of course, his attack on the Egypt's sun god Ra. However, this darkness is truly amazing. It is not that the darkness is achieved by blocking out the sun and the sky. Instead, the Lord brings darkness as a 'thing'. It can be felt. It affects candles and lamps in people's homes. It is so total that even human eyes cannot adjust so the people do not even move because it would be unsafe.

Many of the plagues are beyond powerful. They are described as the worst event of their kind in the history of Egypt. However, this isn't just 'the worst' darkness. This is a different human experience altogether. God didn't stop the transmission of light, but instead he allowed a darkness to exist in and around every person so that all they could experience was the dark. They saw only the dark. They felt the dark ... it was touching them. For these three days, darkness wasn't the absence of light ... it was its own entity that became the only thing the Egyptians could experience, even though there was still a source of light (which is why the Israelites had light).

Perhaps this was the example from the Lord ... Evil is not 'just' the absence of good, but it is an actual thing. When that evil is all that is in a person's life, and surrounds them entirely, it becomes the entirety of their experience. They can feel it, and they can't see or feel anything else or any source of good or love. And many don't move out of it.

Application: I know people whose lives are wrapped up in and committed to evil ideas and wicked ways, and every day their lives are effectively consumed by mental anguish and daily hardship ... and they see no correlation. They just remain within the ideals they now believe as truth, staying in proximity to the source of those issues, lamenting their anxiety and stress and sadness ... and they don't move.

The situation is NOT that the love of God isn't right here in the earth. It is that they are living in the evil - it is a tangible thing surrounding them - and it is what they choose to see and feel. They are walking in darkness, and not even trying to find any great light. They would rather remain where they are.

Prayer: Lord, may more people who are walking in darkness see a great light. May everyone who lives a life in such a way that all they seem to be able to 'feel' is some oppressive negativity become aware that that isn't normal, and may they respond by seeking your love, which is right there for them if they would only open their eyes and their hearts. Amen.