26/08/2026
Pastor's Pen | A Shaft of Light
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
In this passage we are encouraged to value the truth and to reject deception. We must move away even from self deception. The capacity to be self deceived is too often overlooked and underestimated.
We can absolutely convince ourselves that a direction in our thinking is the best way to proceed. We can be so entrenched in our self deception that we filter out anything that anyone says that might be in stark contrast to it.
It is right at this point that God in His mercy employs the concept of the shaft of light.
Shaft of Light Concept
God will not leave us in a place of self deception if we are truly willing to discover the truth in a matter. As much as we might be shutting ourselves off from the light, He will always allow a tiny shaft of divine truth to flicker in.
We have to be willing to look at where that flicker of light is coming from. If it is from the word of God, from a Christian brother or sister or a Christian book, podcast or video then it is much more likely to be from God.
It is possible though to be deceived by “bursts of light” from other sources but they are of a different “hue” and will feed the sinful nature instead of leading us to the truth. We need discernment in this area.
We must plead for the light of Christ, immerse ourselves in the Word of God and be willing to drop off deception when it becomes clear we have been hoodwinked.
This will usually mean some emotional pain and a refusing to let our emotions have the upper hand.
The peace that living in the truth brings is worth the cost and will lead to freedom in many areas of our lives.
Rod