{"id":8,"date":"2013-02-18T11:39:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-18T11:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/2013\/02\/18\/the-40-day-challenge-day-21\/"},"modified":"2013-03-07T16:49:21","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T16:49:21","slug":"the-40-day-challenge-day-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-21\/","title":{"rendered":"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201c\u2026<\/span>to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.\u201d So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.<\/span><\/i> (Luke 1:79,80)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
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\u201c\u2026 those who sit in darkness\u2026\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

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Who is God talking about?<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s talking about those who can\u2019t even understand why they behave the way they do or take attitudes that they themselves condemn.<\/p>\n

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When a person is in darkness, he or she does not have strength to change their degrading condition. They are in darkness, without direction\u2026 without a hint of light.<\/p>\n

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The shadow of death suggests an evil force that pushes people to the abyss.<\/p>\n

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Right now, God is giving light to those who are sitting in darkness. Did you know that? He is revealing our mistakes to us.<\/p>\n

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God gives us light through His Word and His Spirit.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Let me tell you something: I am not demon-possessed, but there are many things that have not yet been revealed to me. There are things that I still don\u2019t know how to deal with.<\/p>\n

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And many times, we feel frustrated because we don\u2019t know what to do\u2026<\/p>\n

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But the light of God shows the way to those to recognise that they need it. God gives us life when we look for it, when we desire it and when we recognise our dependence on Him.<\/p>\n

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I am not perfect! And I will be imperfect for as long as I live in this world.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Until the day my corruptible body is exchanged for a glorified body, I will need this light to show me the way all the time.<\/p>\n

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Usually, people associate \u201csitting in darkness\u201d with \u201cbeing demon-possessed\u201d\u2026 but this not so. It can also refer to those who are in need of guidance, of direction, of light.<\/p>\n

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For example, sometimes we go through a situation that makes us feel sad and downcast, and we don\u2019t know how to deal with it. At this moment, we need light in order to find the way out!<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo the child grew and became strong in spirit.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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In this verse, \u2018spirit\u2019 is related to our intellect, our ability to think. When we have a rational faith, we become strong in spirit; and so, when a problem arises, we immediately fight against it.<\/p>\n

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For example, whenever I have evil thoughts, I immediately say, \u201cJesus, I love you! Thank you for everything You have done for me.\u201d I fight those evil thoughts and glorify God, and they go away.<\/p>\n

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The devil wants to accuse us and make us feel guilty, but when we react against him and glorify God with sincerity, we strengthen our spirit.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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It was not God who made the child grow and become strong in spirit, but the child himself, when he fought the good fight in his mind, in his body and in his spirit\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2026 and was in the deserts\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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He was just a boy\u2026\u00a0 child!<\/p>\n

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Did you get it? You can be a \u2018child\u2019 in the faith, but if you behave in a rational way and watch your feelings \u2014 \u201cWhy am I feeling like that? What\u2019s the problem? I want to know where this feeling is coming from\u2026\u201d \u2014 you will overcome everything and strengthen your spirit!<\/p>\n

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John the Baptist grew in the desert. Likewise, you and I grow in the deserts of life, and not only when we read and meditate on the Word of God. We grow when we have to deal with problems and the unexpected.<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2026 till the day of his manifestation to Israel.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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Once again, we see the importance of knowing how to wait for the right time. Maybe you feel like sharing with everyone what God is revealing to you (I used to be like this), but you have to wait for the right time to do so. We should not be anxious.<\/p>\n

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Everything will happen in due course\u2026 naturally.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Vivi Freitas<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201c\u2026to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.\u201d So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Luke 1:79,80) \u201c\u2026 those who sit in darkness\u2026\u201d Who is<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-40-day-challenge"],"better_featured_image":null,"yoast_head":"\nThe 40-Day Challenge: Day 21 - Viviane Freitas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-21\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 21 - Viviane Freitas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201c\u2026to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.\u201d So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. 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