Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

Having lived on the central Gulf Coast of Florida for several years, we used to laugh that we had never seen the iconic Sunshine Skyway bridge, even though it is only twenty miles South us. So, on my birthday last year, we planned to drive over the bridge, stop at a nearby park for a picnic, and take oodles of photos. But a storm by the name of Ian set its sights on our area the day before our big plans. The Skyway bridge was closed, and we evacuated to an inland location. That night after we settled in, we heated up a frozen pizza and prayed for safety and God’s blessing on my birthday dinner. Then about halfway through the prayer, the lights flickered out and we found ourselves in total darkness. I learned that night, that the suitcases of supplies we had brought along to weather the storm, were nothing compared to our flashlight!

Jesus said, that if we follow Him, we will never be left in the dark, and that little flashlight that saved our dinner that evening gave me a great appreciation for what He meant! But Jesus never promised that we would have a blindingly brilliant light. He simply said that if we choose to follow, then He will always give us enough light to be able to walk with Him. Sometimes there are spiritual storms that come our way even more unexpectedly than Hurricane Ian. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus – The Light of the World – we will never be left in darkness. So as the tropics heat up this Summer and storms start to head our way, be sure you remember the flashlight!