“Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee; and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
Isaiah 60:1-3
When you enter a dark room, with no light source, it could be almost impossible to navigate. In fact, it could feel overwhelming . However, by simply adding a light source, suddenly the room becomes easy to navigate. The darkness instantaneously dissolves, and you can suddenly see clearly. In the darkroom of life, we are commanded to be the light source. Jesus is the light of the world, and because He dwells within us, it now makes us the light of the world as well.
Jesus let us know in Mathew 5:16: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
In this day and time, it is so apparent that there is gross darkness working throughout the earth. The evening news seems to focus almost exclusively on fearful events happening around the world. Some people might become discouraged or overwhelmed by the darkness. However, the Lord impresses upon us that we are not to be overcome by the darkness, but instead to shine brightly and cause the darkness to flee. We are to shine with the purpose of drawing others to the Lord. We shine by allowing the fruits of the spirit to work mightily through us in all situations. When everyone else is speaking fear, we speak faith. When everyone else speaks negatively, we focus on the positive. When others act out in anger and frustration, we bring the peace and love of the Father.
Romans 12:21 “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” We do not respond the way the world does. When others are angry and unkind, we respond with love, peace and kindness. We are to be different than the world around us. As we do, we make a noticeable impact that draws others to us. We are in the world, but not of the world. We can bring heaven on earth wherever we go.
Romans 5:20b-21 “…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
It doesn’t matter how dark a situation may appear. The greater one lives on the inside of us. (see 1 John 4:4). We have the victory over every situation through the power of God that works on the inside of us. (See Ephesians 1). Therefore, let us remember who we are in Christ and let’s bring the light of His word to every situation!
Further reading: Ephesians 1, John 1, 1 John 4, Psalm 119:105, Isaiah 58:10, John 8:12, Psalm 119:130, John 12:46, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 5:8, 1 John 1:5, Proverbs 4:18, Isaiah 9:2, Acts 26:18, 1 Thessalonian 5:5
