In fact, the blackout not only extinguishes all visible light, it halts practically all of the activities in the mentioned home: the TV's out, so are the plugged-in laptops, the iron, the A/Cs, the fans and fluorescent & night light bulbs, the pump in the aquarium, the fridge- everything. To top all of that, since midnight's just around the corner, the pitch-black surroundings gives all of them a taste of what it's like to be blind. Their sense of sight is taken away from them whether they're ready for it or not.
That's not all. As time progresses, the heat starts to take a toll on them, who've been enjoying years of the A/C and fans' taken for granted services. They are perspiring profusely for the first time in a decade. In such an undesired situation, they cannot do anything, since everything seemed to require electrical supply. Trying to sleep is a terrible torture, with sweat rolling down every part of their bodies. For you smart alecs out there, it so happened that the family did not have back-up generators. Under such a circumstance, one of them has to feel his way through to the cabinet which contained candles and a lighter, and when a single candle is lit, the whole house is illuminated to a great extent, exaggerated by the fact that it was pitch-black before.
In the aforementioned setting, the source of power was electricity. Similarly in most houses today, it is the same. Electricity runs everything; it enables most, if not all activities in the house to be carried out. Viewing our lives, God is that source of power. God enables everything in our lives to run- and run smoothly, be it our school, work, relationships or finance. Being the source, He gives us the energy, strength, power, skills and talents to do the things we do each day- for His glory. Yet, we do not always do things to glorify His name; most of the time in fact, we abuse what we have received for personal gains and pleasure. This of course grieves God. However, He who possesses the power to give, possesses the power to take away also; at any time at all, without warning, as He pleases. When that happens, it would be very much like experiencing a blackout, where everything stops abruptly. We lose our jobs, relations with others are severed, etc. and that might or might not taste like death. With our eyes veiled by darkness, we cannot see a thing, and fumble in the darkness. With no where else to turn to, we finally turn to Jesus, to God and cry out to Him. We finally pray after a decade of self-sufficiency. With a broken and repentant heart, we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives again, and let God take the wheel. We would be in the process of lighting up the candle. Then, Jesus would be like that freshly lit candle, illuminating our lives so brightly so that we might see again. This time however, we do not see the materials and objects of this world, but we view the eternal glory that He has promised to all who would love and obey His commands. We would no longer be caught up with the bustling and busy, yet meaningless activities of this world. We would do everything unto the glory of God. This would most definitely require a change of heart.
Remember, God is the source of our lives, of our very beings. Let us learn how to understand, appreciate and cherish that fact. Let us use our lives to glorify and please Him, because when we do so, we can be assured of no blackouts; only an everlasting light.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
~John 15:5 [NIV]
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