“Choosing Darkness Instead of Truth”

Based on 2 Thessalonians 2:6–12

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before You with open hearts. Shine Your light on every corner of our lives—places we see clearly and places we’ve tried to hide. Lord, we confess that sometimes darkness feels comfortable, familiar, or easy, but it is never Your desire for us.

Today, awaken us to Your truth. Give us eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that respond to Your voice. Break every deception, silence every lie, and pull us away from anything that would draw us from Your presence.

Let Your truth be our anchor. Let Your Word be our guide. Let Your Spirit be our strength.

We step into Your light willingly, gratefully, and humbly. Lead us, Lord—keep us close, keep us aware, and keep us shining for Your glory. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

The Porch Light

"A few years ago, a neighbor told me a story about her teenage son, Marcus.

He had begun hanging out with a new group of friends—kids who pulled him in the wrong direction. His mother noticed the change: the late nights, the secretive behavior, the slipping grades. She tried talking to him, praying for him, warning him, reminding him of who he was and how he was raised.

But Marcus didn’t want to hear it.

One night, long after midnight, she heard the front door creak open. Marcus slipped outside with his hoodie pulled up, heading toward a car waiting at the curb. She stepped to the door just in time to see him wave off her voice and walk toward the shadows at the end of the driveway.

The porch light was shining brightly behind him…but he walked away from it.

She told me, “Ron, it wasn’t the darkness that grabbed him first—it was his decision to turn away from what he knew was right.”

Marcus didn’t become lost the moment he stepped into the dark. He became lost the moment he turned his back on the light.

For months, she continued praying, hoping he would come home—not just physically, but spiritually. Eventually, one night, the same porch light guided him back. He said later, “Mom, I finally realized the darkness wasn’t where I belonged.”

That night, he didn’t just return home—he turned back toward the Light."

There is a quiet but dangerous reality woven throughout Scripture: people don’t drift into darkness—they choose it.

And just as true, people don’t stumble into truth by accident—they receive it.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul describes a world where deception grows, where the “lawless one” will one day be revealed, and where people will be drawn in by lies that look like light. But Paul doesn’t stop with the future. He reminds us:

“The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” (Even now… even today… even in our hearts.)

Paul writes something heartbreaking—almost unbearable:

“They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.”

Notice the wording: Truth was offered. Love was extended. Hope was available. But they did not accept it.

Darkness is not simply the absence of light—it’s what happens when people turn their backs on the Light.

This is the spiritual tragedy of humanity:

• God offers truth.

• God offers salvation.

• God offers Himself. But the human heart often says, “No, thank You—I’ll walk my own way.”

And when people repeatedly reject truth, Paul says something startling:

“God sends them a strong delusion…” Not because God delights in confusion, but because they insist on embracing lies.

Sometimes God allows people to have exactly what they desire—even if what they desire destroys them.

Choosing darkness does not stay small. It grows. It deceives. It numbs the heart. It blinds the eyes.

Paul describes people who:

• Delight in unrighteousness

• Become vulnerable to lies

• Are swept away by counterfeit miracles and wonders

It isn’t that truth wasn’t available—it’s that they refused to receive it.

This is not just a prophecy of future days. It’s a mirror for today.

Paul ends with a promise drenched in power:

“The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to nothing…”

One breath. One appearance. One moment of Christ’s glory—and every lie collapses.

Darkness is loud, but it is never lasting. Lies are convincing, but never victorious. Deception is powerful, but never permanent.

Jesus has already won.

Friend, this devotional is not just about the future or about “those people out there.”

It’s about you. It’s about me. It’s about the daily choices we make:

• Will I choose forgiveness… or bitterness?

• Will I choose purity… or secret sin?

• Will I choose humility… or pride?

• Will I choose God’s word… or my own opinion?

• Will I choose the Light… or flirt with darkness?

Every decision either opens the door to truth or cracks the window for deception.

But hear this: God never stops offering truth. He never stops shining light. He never stops calling you out of the shadows.

Father, keep us from choosing darkness when You offer us truth. Give us soft hearts, open eyes, and willing spirits. Where we’ve drifted into shadows, pull us back. Where we’ve believed lies, correct us gently. Teach us to recognize Your voice above all others. And help us walk as children of the Light—today and every day. Amen.

© Ron and Star Nelson — Sowing Seeds of Joy, Inc. All rights reserved. This blog and its contents are protected by copyright. No portion of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means—without prior written permission from the authors and Sowing Seeds of Joy, Inc.