Let Your Light Shine
Matthew 5:13-16
Isaiah 60:3 …and nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. This is the effect of the earlier verse in Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
The fact that nations shall come to our light and kings to the brightness of our dawn or rising, is incredible.
Here’s why? – Because the norm is for us to ‘go’ to nations with the promise that nations would then come to us.
A king never leaves his throne but if we did have an audience with the king, we would go to him and count it a privilege to meet with him. Yet the Bible says that nations and kings will come to our light and the brightness of our rising. This is a stark reminder, that we do not have to chase what God wants to bring to us, Amen
There are many things in scripture that we possess by pursuing them, (Not talking about name it claim it, blab it grab it theology) ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.’ Matthew 7:7 -11
Speaking about the provision of God, if we have a need ask God, of whom the Bible says: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Equally, there are times when we are to receive rather than be active, we are to be still rather than running after, chasing or pursuing things.
Don’t pursue ‘goodness and mercy’ it should follow us all the days of our lives according to Psalm 23:6 , if the Lord is our shepherd.
We don’t need to chase or be anxious about material things food, what we wear, shelter according to Matthew 6:33because these things will be added to us when we seek first His kingdom.
When we get our priorities right putting God first in all things the blessing or favour of God happens upon us because God is a God who delights in blessing His people.
When we let our light shine the things that are evident in our lives are: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
King David understood God’s promise of provision to meet all our needs Psalm 37:25 – I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging for bread.
We don’t need to pursue favour, we just need to arise and shine. Light doesn’t strive or labour it just shines. When we radiate the life, light and character of Jesus in all that we do, many of the things that we chase will just be drawn in our direction and populate our lives.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
Ask God for the grace to rise and shine in the midst of the dark surroundings, fuel poverty, tax rises, energy crisis, rising cost of living, mental health
The world is becoming an increasingly dark place and nations, kings, leaders and politicians are looking for answers.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
We carry the answer in Jesus and we need to arise and shine because His presence in us speaks louder than our shouting. Influence and favour are simply the by product of us shining, so don’t exhaust yourselves by chasing what God already wants to bring to us.
Let our light shine today and watch what God does and by His Spirit brings into our lives.