I cried out to God for help when everything I knew about serving Him fell out from under me. I discovered that the spiritual leader I had trusted for over 20 years lived a lie. He preached one thing but lived another. He raped young women; he lied to all of us and about each of us to each other in order to keep control and he soaked up as much money as he could while many of us lived in poverty.

God answered my cry by telling me to look at who He was. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can see God's character and nature by looking at His creation. His answer felt so good to my spirit because He gave me something to look at instead of my shame, confusion, fear and rage. Hope entered my world.

Jesus actually began His story by declaring, "Let there be light." We cannot live without light. Plants use photosynthesis to power their cell factories, producing food, clothing, housing and oxygen for living things. No fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, teas, coffee or chocolate can exist without light! Animals eat plants and then pass on milk, cheese, eggs and bacon for our morning feast. My greatest surprise came when I learned that we cannot breathe without light. The plant world takes in our discarded carbon dioxide and returns life-giving oxygen.

Light is a physical picture of a spiritual wonder. As we cannot live without physical light, we cannot live spiritually without knowing Jesus, the Light of the World.

In the first chapter of Genesis, God commands light to shine into the darkness. It seems that there is definitely a physical darkness there, but I believe He is talking about a spiritual darkness as well. Lucifer's name means light-bearer. Before he became Satan, he was anointed as a guardian cherub. He was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28). Lucifer had carried God's light, but he forgot that he was not the source of that light. Isaiah described him as fallen from heaven (Isaiah 14). Now he was spreading darkness instead of light. Satan tried to deceive the world into proclaiming his familiar theme of pride and rebellion against God. He portrayed God as nonexistent, cruel, or impotent. He stirred up sin and misery.

Christ did not die so that we could be manipulated into fear, condemnation and oppression by others. God's shepherd heart is always for His sheep. I think of North America's Native people and how they were treated by people calling themselves Christians when I read God's rebuke to the spiritual shepherds of Israel. He denounced them by saying, "You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally."

Life here on earth is a struggle, but God did not leave us in Satan's hands. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19, NIV) By the way, just as we have to have physical light to see, we have to have spiritual light to see spiritual truth.

Paul prayed for "great endurance and patience" for the Colossians as they joyfully gave thanks to the Father who had called them to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Paul went on to explain: "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-13, NIV).

Jesus sent Paul to declare His message to the Gentiles (all of us who are not a part of Israel). He said: "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."

Do you sometimes feel surrounded by darkness? Look to the light!

Sue Carlisle grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. An enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see our awesome Creator. Sue is author of Walking with the Creator Along the Narrow Road (2013 Indian Life Books) and a columnist for Indian Life. She and her husband, Wes, now live in Thunder Bay, Ontario.