'The LORD my God illumines my darkness.'
(Psalm 18:28)

We live in a world of darkness and this darkness is the environment in which man's heart grows stone cold. The emptiness that the darkness brings to our lives results in our striving for meaning and truth. Yet we spend our days wandering in the darkness growing attached to its allures - the wisdom and ways of this world - ignoring the real meaning of life while attempting to rationalize away truth.
This empty darkness overflows with envy and strife, depression and fear, covetousness and greed, desire for power and control, anger and bitterness and ultimately separation and death. The ease in which we meld into the darkness goes virtually unnoticed. Then when we are alerted to an heinous act that reflects the darkness of man's heart we wonder why and how this can be!
The truth - the hardened heart of man is deceitfully wicked.
The answer to mankind's dilemma (overcoming the darkness) has come! The Truth has come to set us free - to shine light into the darkness and release us from its bondage. But the darkness abhors the light and will attempt to extinguish any signs of light - thus the struggle for the heart of man.
The truth - the Light came into the world that we might be rescued from the darkness...That the power of this world would no longer have rule over us...That we would know truth and be set free from the bondage that oppresses. It is the Lord that illumines our darkness and there is no other !

'Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, " I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."'
(John 8:12)

started strong but didn't finish

Uzziah reigned 52 years in Jerusalem -
1) He did right in the sight of the Lord,
2) he continued to seek God and
3) he became very strong
BUT when he became strong he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God...
(2 Chronicles 26)

Started off strong but didn't finish....this is the story of Uzziah. Paul tells us that we are to run the race to finish it and win! The struggle against the flesh is strong and we must fight the good fight of faith if we are to remain faithful in our walk with the Lord throughout our lives.
With a steadfast determination we must not allow success in this world to corrupt us and lead to unfaithfulness. Setting our sights on the Lord and
understanding that it is by His hand that we have success...that it is by His hand that we have talents and abilities...that our strength is from Him. Thus our heart's desire should be to remain faithful and true. And then shall we honor Him over the course of our entire life and finish strong.
May our lives reflect the first three comments regarding the life of Uzziah and
might we, empowered by the Spirit, not follow along with Uzziah's post script.