Arise and Shine!
“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 KJV)
Our greatest days are ahead of us, not behind us. Trouble not yourselves by what seems to be an avalanche of evil prevailing over us. Darkness will never extinguish the light. Let your light shine. Put it on a pedestal for all to see it. Light always overcomes darkness.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12 and 9:5). And he was the light of the world by doing the works of light. "The works of him that sent me." (John 9:4). Jesus only spoke what the Father told him to say and only did what the Father showed him to do. Light is saying and doing the works of the Father. In Matthew 4:13-17, the people who dwelt in darkness saw a great light. The light was Jesus as he went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38). Jesus has sent us as the Father sent him. (John 17:18 and 20:21). Jesus sent us to be the light of the world and commanded us to let our light shine! (Matthew 5:14-16).
Despite how dark it may seem, remember, the darkness cannot put out the light of God that is in us. But we must release the light of God that is in us. Yes, evil will continue to get worse and worse. Darkness will continue to increase more and more. The days ahead of us will continue to see a rise in wickedness. But take heart, we can let our lights shine to overcome the darkness.
Despite how bad it seems, there are more believers of Jesus on the Earth during these days than ever before in the world's history. The Body of Christ continues to multiply. We are getting stronger and stronger. We are not living in such a depraved state of society like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah when angels could not find 10 righteous to save the cities. Or like in the days of Noah, when the flood destroyed all the living except for seven human beings. Do not be deceived into thinking these days are so evil and beyond hope. The light of the Gospel is shining, bringing light and salvation wherever it is preached.
So arise, shine, and let your light be very bright. Let it push back the darkness, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Preach and teach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Do the works of God to let the light brightly shine and destroy the works of darkness. This is our finest hour and our best days are ahead of us!
