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b'When I was asked to give a devotional message to a group ofhigh school students, I started my presentation by readingfrom the Bible about light and darkness. Then, I held up a large,empty cardboard box and said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153There is nothing in this box, butthere is something. What is it?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d After a long silence, I repeatedthe question. One student said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Air.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Another said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153God.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d I affirmed that air is everywhere, and God is everywhere, but there was another answer. One student finally yelled out, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Darkness!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d That was the answer I was looking for.\\nI said I would open the box and we would all watch where that cube of darkness would go. Would it float up to the ceiling, or sink down and bounce off the floor? Maybe it would overpower the room, engulfing us all! I slowly opened the box. What did we see? Nothing\\u2014the darkness disappeared. The light overcame it.\\nBy definition, darkness is merely the absence of light. If someone brings a light into a dark room, the darkness doesn\\u2019t overpower the light. Rather, the whole room becomes lighter. Throughout the Bible, God is associated with light. In the first chapter of John\\u2019s Gospel, he starts by unveiling Jesus\\u2019 identity as the Word through whom all things were made. Then John says, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (John 1:4-5).\\nJesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). God sent Him to live among us, to show us what God is like, and to let Himself be put to death in our place. But Jesus could not be overcome by death or sin or any kind of evil. After three days in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead and returned to His followers! What they didn\\u2019t realize yet was that Jesus had made a way for everyone who puts their trust in Him to be forgiven. Jesus, who is the Light, defeated the darkness. And through Him, God has rescued us from darkness and brought us into His kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12-14). Darkness\\u2019 days are numbered because Jesus will get rid of all darkness when He returns. In the meantime, He sits with us and gives us hope in the darkness.\\nGod always wins over evil. Light always wins over darkness. \\u2022 Daniel Dore\\n\\u2022 Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the darkness in your life? How might it give you hope to know that Jesus is far more powerful than any darkness? \\n\\u2022 Is there an area of your life where you\\u2019d like God to dispel darkness?\\nGod is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 1 John 1:5b (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\n2 Samuel 22:29; Psalm 145:18; Luke 15:1-32'