“Arise and shine, for your light has come; the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you and His glory upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

Light and Dark

I love this Scripture because it’s a wakeup call. I say the first part to my husband in the morning (smile). Although the context is to the nation of Israel, it’s a wakeup call to us as Christians too. What a wonderful blessing to us that God’s light and glory is upon us, and in us!  

God calls us to stay in the light of truth in all areas of our lives. I’m convicted sometimes at work: Am I making God’s message bright by my actions, or gray and blurry because of exaggerations in conversations or not-so-loving behavior? Or sometimes I notice with unsaved family that I find myself watering down the truth, not allowing God’s true light and glory to shine out of fear. Yuck! Jesus in Revelation 3 spit them out of His mouth! The conviction hurts, as it should. If I really loved them, as I do, I would allow God’s light of truth to penetrate their darkness and shine in His glory. When the battle comes it is unpleasant, but with fervent prayer God can penetrate His loving light and expose the darkness so they see their need for His forgiveness and new life!  

Our world around us is in crisis. The divide between light and darkness is growing wider and wider. The media has subtle ways of penetrating minds with blatant sin as being acceptable, and promoting just outright lies! How much more I am encouraged and compelled by the Lord to share His glorious light! When choosing darkness, what a wonderful gift the world is missing out on! Only by believing and obeying the truth of God’s Word can we find true satisfaction and comfort that brings us peace and balance. Only by putting our entire confidence in Christ’s sacrifice are we full.

I can yell at the people on TV, but they can’t hear me. Only by abiding in God’s Word and in prayer empowered by the Spirit are we able to make a difference. When we delight ourselves in the Lord we are living in His Light and glory, and our joy becomes contagious. We fall so in love with our Lord that the desires of the flesh will just fade away, and the desire for His righteousness is our life.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily unto the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23). This is our encouragement to keep us in the light and living in His glory because He is our heart’s desire and we’re enjoying Him there! He meets us with His smile.

“Heavenly Father, the darkness in the world can be scary these days. We long to stay in Your light and glory, and to be contagious with Your joy so the darkness around us will fade away and Your light of truth will penetrate hearts by the word of our testimony. Amen.”