When The Power Goes Out Inside You

You are in your living room at night, storm raging outside, and the power suddenly cuts. The hum of the fridge dies. The soft glow of screens disappears. You stand still, one hand out, trying not to kick a table leg or step on a Lego. The room you know by heart now feels unfamiliar and a little dangerous.

That is what life feels like when you try to lead, love, and make decisions without God’s light. The room has not changed, but your ability to move wisely in it has.

Now imagine a small hand grabbing yours in the dark. A flashlight flicks on. You still hear thunder, but you can see again.

That is what Jesus is offering in Mark 10:14 and in every corner of your life and business today. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14 (NIV)

This is not a cute kids’ verse. It is a leadership blueprint. It is a discipleship manual. It is a way to live and work that feels completely upside down to the way the world trains us.

The Day The Disciples Tried To Run Security

Zoom in on the scene. Parents are bringing their kids to Jesus so he can bless them. The disciples step in like overprotective executive assistants. In their minds, they are doing good work. They are protecting Jesus from distractions, organizing his schedule, and making sure meetings are high-value.

So they start shooing kids away.

Jesus watches this, and Mark says he becomes indignant. Not mildly annoyed. Deeply grieved and angered that his closest followers still do not see his heart. Then he drops this line that cuts right through their assumptions:

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

If you read the whole chapter, the contrast is sharp. Children with no status are welcomed. A rich young ruler with all the status checks every box except surrender, and walks away sad. The disciples are trying to curate access for Jesus. Jesus is blowing up their access rules and saying, “You see interruption. I see the model of how my kingdom works.”

Here is the punchline.

Jesus is not only inviting children. He is defining the kind of heart that actually gets the kingdom.

Childlike Is Not Childish

We need to clear something up.

Childish is emotional immaturity, refusal to grow, and self-centeredness. Nobody is called to stay there.

Childlike is different. Childlike is trust. Dependence. Willingness to receive. Freedom to admit, “I do not know, but my Father does.”

When the power goes out, a child does not muscle through the living room alone. They reach for a hand and move toward the light. They are not embarrassed by their need. They are not trying to prove they can handle it.

That posture is what Jesus is praising.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (NIV). Kids naturally follow the light. Adults often argue with it. We know the verse, but we still walk by the glow of our own strategy, fear, or pride. We treat God’s Word as a quote wall, not an actual lamp that sets our next step.

Childlike faith sounds like this: “God, I do not fully understand this path. But if your Word lights this direction, I will walk there.”

That is not weakness. That is clarity.

Walking In The Light When You Would Rather Hide

The Bible keeps coming back to this light picture. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” in John 8:12. First John 1 tells us that when we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and Jesus’ blood cleanses us.

Light reveals what is real. It does not flatter. It does not spin. It shows you the room as it is, which is exactly why part of us resists it.

You know this feeling. There is that habit, that secret, that pattern you keep in the shadows. You tell yourself it is under control. You tell yourself you will deal with it later. You keep leading, parenting, building, posting, but inside, you know there is a corner of your heart where the switches are still off.

Walking in the light means you stop pretending.

You let God’s Word read you, not just you reading it. You let the Spirit bring conviction, not just comfort. You bring real sin, real fear, and real confusion into honest conversation with God and, at the right time, with trusted people. You surrender old ways instead of explaining them.

That is scary. It feels like stepping into a bright room after years in a dark one. Your eyes hurt. Your pride hurts. Your self-image hurts.

But this is where freedom lives.

The Spiritual Blueprint For Real Growth

Spiritually, this is the pattern:

Come to Jesus like a child. Receive the kingdom as a gift, not a reward. Walk in the light so the gift actually reshapes your life.

Simple. Not easy.

When you approach God as a child, you stop trying to impress him with spiritual performance. You come with empty hands and an honest heart. You admit what you do not know. You admit where you cannot fix yourself. You lean hard on grace.

When you walk in the light, your life gets rearranged. Old ways die. New habits form. You start to see patterns you could not see before. You begin to love righteousness in places where you used to tolerate compromise.

Over time, you become a different kind of person. Not perfect. But real. Rooted. Bright from the inside out.

And all of this shows up in your relationships and your work more than you might think.

What This Means For Relationships

If the kingdom belongs to childlike hearts, then every relationship in your life is an invitation to practice that posture.

With your spouse, your kids, your friends, and your church, childlike faith keeps you from pretending you are fine when you are not. It gives you the courage to say, “I was wrong,” without a paragraph of excuses. It opens the door to confession, not just conflict management.

Walking in the light with others means you show up honestly. You listen deeply. You stop curating a religious image and instead let people see the ongoing work God is doing in you.

Here is the tension.

Most of us want deep connection without costly vulnerability. We want people to know us without actually seeing the places we are ashamed. We want community without light.

That combination does not exist.

You grow real fellowship when you choose to live in the same light with others that you live in with God. That means saying things like, “Here is where I am tempted. Here is where I feel afraid. Here is where God is calling me forward, and I do not know how to obey yet.”

The promise is that in that shared light, we are reminded we are not alone. We experience encouragement, accountability, and joy that never show up in shallow, image-driven relationships.

What This Means For Business And Leadership

Let us walk into your Monday morning.

You have KPIs, deadlines, Slack pings, and client expectations. You have decisions to make about people and budgets. You have a brand to protect and a future to plan. The pressure to project strength is real.

In that environment, childlike faith can feel wildly out of place.

Yet this is where Mark 10:14 quietly rewires leadership. If the kingdom belongs to the childlike, then a kingdom-shaped business or team will be led by someone who walks in the light and refuses to play the gatekeeper Jesus corrected.

Practically, this looks like a few things.

You stop building culture on fear and perfection. Instead, you build around clarity, honesty, and learning. People are allowed to bring questions and doubts into the room. Mistakes are confessed, not buried. Truth is more important than optics.

You make decisions in the light of Scripture, not only in the light of spreadsheets. That does not mean you ignore data. It means you let God’s heart shape what success even means. Are you willing to walk away from a profitable opportunity if it would pull your company into the shadows ethically? Are you willing to slow growth to protect integrity and people?

You choose to be a leader who admits need. You say, “I do not know yet,” instead of pretending. You ask God for wisdom before you ask the internet for trends. You surround yourself with voices who tell you the truth, not just what makes you feel safe.

In simple terms, you lead like a grown-up who has not forgotten how to be a child before God.

Beware The Gatekeeper In You

The disciples thought they were serving Jesus when they blocked the kids. Leaders often think the same way.

We block people we label as too needy or not ready. We create inner circles they will likely never enter. We decide who is worth the time. We filter access to ourselves and, worse, we sometimes filter access to Jesus without realizing it.

You become a gatekeeper when you communicate, “You can belong here once you act like us, think like us, and perform like us.”

Jesus’ words confront that: “Do not hinder them.”

In your home, this means making it easy for your kids, spouse, or friends to move toward Jesus, not harder. That means less sarcasm about their efforts and more encouragement. Less comparison. More invitation.

In your business, this means noticing the people on the edges. The intern. The quiet developer. The overworked assistant. The person everyone overlooks. It means you intentionally open space for them to bring their voice, their story, and their questions. You create rhythms of prayer, reflection, and Scripture that are not just for the super spiritual but accessible to the whole team.

Here is the hard truth.

If Jesus is not building walls, we should be very slow to build them in his name.

Becoming A Beacon, Not Just A Consumer

Psalm 119 talks about God’s Word as a lamp for your feet. John talks about walking in the light. Jesus calls himself the light of the world. Then, in Matthew 5, he looks at his followers and says, “You are the light of the world.”

First, we receive the light. Then we reflect it.

You are not meant to be a professional consumer of spiritual content. You are meant to be a living, breathing, imperfect yet real display of what God’s light can do in a human life.

That means your coworkers should catch glimpses of something different in how you respond under pressure. Your clients should feel that your word is solid, even when nobody would know if you cut a corner. Your team should experience a leader who cares more about integrity and people than short-term optics.

You become, over time, a steady beacon in a world that is very used to working in the dark.

So What Do You Do With This Today

Let us land the plane with some honest reflection.

I get it, you are probably juggling a million things: payroll, client demands, that gnawing feeling you should be doing more. Maybe you are even lying awake at 3 AM, wrestling with a decision that feels impossible. I have been there, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I am even qualified for this. Imposter syndrome is real.

Where are you walking in the dark right now, pretending you see better than you do? I know I have those places. Maybe it is a hidden habit I am not proud of. Maybe it is a fear that is driving my decisions more than I would like to admit. Maybe it is just plain old exhaustion that I refuse to acknowledge, because who has time to rest? Name it. Bring it into the light with God. Say it out loud in prayer.

Where am I acting like a gatekeeper, deciding who is worth my time or who is "ready" for faith? I have to ask myself that all the time. Ask the Spirit to show you faces and names. Then, very practically, move toward one of those people with curiosity, encouragement, and presence.

Where do I need to lead more like a child of God and less like an image manager? That might mean apologizing to my team for snapping when I was stressed. It might mean resetting unrealistic expectations I have set for myself and others. It might mean opening Scripture before I open my email tomorrow, even if it is just for five minutes.

I know, you cannot fix all of this in one dramatic moment. I certainly cannot.

Start with one step in the light.

Pray a simple prayer: "Jesus, I want to come to you like a child and walk in your light. Show me where I am hiding. Show me where I am gatekeeping. Teach me to lead and live with your light at my feet."

Then watch for the next small act of obedience. Take it.

This is how the power comes back on, little by little. This is how we begin to flourish.