ARISE, SHINE!

Years ago, I asked the Lord to speak to me through a verse, any verse that applied to me. I’m not sure this is always a good idea, just opening the Bible randomly and taking the verse personally to apply to one’s own life no matter what it says. I heard someone tell of either a real or fictitious person doing this with amusing results:

The person was looking for direction from the Lord and opened the Bible to see what the Lord might say to him. The first verse that he opened to was, “And Judas went out and hanged himself.” Whoa, what does he do with that! Maybe a second verse would give him some clarification. He opened again to another verse: “Go and do likewise!”

This method of finding the will of God may not always be a good idea! Anyway, after asking the Lord to speak to me, I opened to these verses:

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you (Isaiah 60:1-2).

I have always loved these verses. Whether there is anything to my experience with these verses or not, what they say is certainly true of true believers. While the context it is clearly about the restoration of the glory of God’s people, I like to take it personal too, as a believer. I think you can too.

• As believers, we are no longer in darkness but are now in the light: “He called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
• God has commanded us to arise and shine as lights in the world: “For you were once darkness but are now light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
• We are light because of Jesus: “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
• Certainly, darkness has indeed covered the people of the earth today. According to Jesus, most of the world are unbelievers, walking in darkness: “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).
• But the Lord has risen upon us: We have an incredible calling to be Christ’s ambassadors and the fragrance and aroma of Christ in this dark world (2 Corinthians 5:20, 2:15).
• His glory will be seen upon you: Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

The only hope this world and the people in it has is Jesus. And it is His will to commission you and me to do the job of being His hands and feet in this world. It is an incredible privilege to bear His Name and be chosen to do His work. We are encouraged in the scriptures to make the most of every opportunity, redeeming the time (Ephesians 5:16). Different days have different opportunities. Sometimes we must stand against the ungodly majority against unrighteousness and in favor of righteousness. Sometimes we give of ourselves, time, or money. Sometimes we just spend time adoring Him more. Often we study and learn more about our great God. And of course, given the opportunity, or making an opportunity, we share the good news of Jesus those who are lost without hope in Him. These are all rising, and shining in our everyday life. Every day is an opportunity to offer that day up as a love offering to the One who gave us that day. We bless Him by Rising and Shining, for our light has come!

 

GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE

Most people who have any affection or allegiance to God want to do things that please Him. Whether a new believer or a seasoned one, doing “the will of God” is on our minds and hearts. The thing is, discerning what the will of God actually has somehow become a mystery that it can take a lifetime to solve. We have overcomplicated knowing the will of God for our lives, assuming it is complicated and that God is playing some kind of hide and seek game with us. We pore through  books, travel over land and sea to attend the next great conference and live somewhat unfulfilled lives because we think we are missing out on some great plan of God for us. The truth is, we can’t see the forest because of all the trees.

Certainly there is often a calling and gifts available to us that does indeed often take some seeking to learn what they are. And we do need to get to know these things to be all we can be for Him. But there are a couple of points I would like to make regarding the elusive will of God.

First, contrary to all the Christian self-help and goal-setting gurus, not everyone has some grandiose calling on their life. And not everyone is as gifted as the next one. And that is OK. Through books, sermons and conferences we have come to believe that we are second class disciples if we don’t have some “ministry” or great “calling” or, well, make a name for ourselves. We don’t all teach, have lots of money, lead, or display various incredible gifts. Some of us, most of us, are just Christians. Not second class ones, first class ones even if we are not gifted people of notoriety.

Many, hoping to find out the wonderful plan God has for their lives, waste decades waiting to find out what that great plan is, and live rather mediocre lives as they wait for the great revelation from on High. But it isn’t the will of God to live mediocre lives. And it is the will of God to know the will of God. While we are waiting on Him for our marching orders, we need to pay attention to the marching orders we have already received. In the Bible, God has made enough of His will plain enough to fill the lifetime of any believer. Here is a very partial list of the will of God for your life, enough to occupy you till you see Jesus:

• Rejoice always, Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• Visit orphans, widows, keep yourself from being stained by the world (James 1:27)
• Feed the hungry, be hospitable, clothe the needy, visit the sick and in prison (Matthew 25:40-46)
• Remember the poor (Galatians 2:10)
• Offer bodies as living sacrifices, Be transformed by renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2)
• Have faith in God (Mark 11:22)
• Pray for authorities (1 Timothy 2:2)
• Give generously, fast, pray (Matthew 6)
• Study your Bible (2 Timothy 2:15)
• Go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)
• Repent of your sins and be baptized (Acts 2:28)
• Be holy (1 Peter 1:16)
• Spend time with believers (Hebrews 10:25)
• Consider others as more important than yourselves (Philippians 2:3)
• Deny yourself, take up your cross DAILY, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:24)
• Be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1)
• Bear fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31)

Many of us gloss over the will of God for our lives as we seek the will of God. Above is only a partial “to do list” from God yet is enough to occupy us every day for the rest of our lives. If, while doing the already revealed will of God, we receive further marching orders from Him, great! But until then, let us not let life slide by without doing what He has already told us to do.

 

OUR OPPORTUNITY IS NOW

In Genesis 16 we read a story that we could easily disregard as having little to do with us as God’s people. It is the story of Abraham’s concubine Hagar. His wife Sarai was barren and it was her idea to give her maidservant Hagar to Abraham to bear children. Abraham agreed and soon Hagar was with Abraham’s child. Ironically, this ticked Sarai off big time, even though it was her idea in the first place. Abraham gave in to Sarai and told her to do what she wanted with Hagar. What Sarai wanted to do was treat her with Hagar was treat her harshly, and she did. So much so that Hagar eventually fled from them.

She fled to the wilderness and was found by the Angel of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand. And then he promised to multiply her descendants. She did as she was told, made the most of the situation, and bore a son to Abraham.

So an Angel speaks to her and tells her that her present lot in life is to submit to moody Sarai and make the most of the situation, and eventually blessings will follow. There is a lesson here.

Often our present lot in life or even our calling is anything but glorious. Sometimes it seems we are far from blessed. We have a vision of what we want our life to look like and perhaps our present circumstances bear little resemblance to our version of what should be. Welcome to life. Life is a process. We don’t always win and it isn’t always roses today or tomorrow or the next day. Sometimes life just stinks for a time and our real purpose and calling isn’t revealed until later.  Most of us don’t have grandiose callings. Our calling amounts to what is written in Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

For most of us our lot in life is just everyday obedience to our God. Many travel to and fro and read endless books to find out the will of God for themselves. Yet the Bible makes it quite clear that the will of God is everyday obedience. Anything beyond that will come only after we get good at every day obedience.

So how does the story of Hagar fit into this? We are to make the most of where we are in life now. It is not ours to coast through years of what we think is a lesser calling but to make the most of it. In 1 Corinthians 7 we see Paul telling slaves to make the most of their lives. If they can obtain freedom, well and good, but there is still a life to live for God, even in slavery. He tells the married to make the most of their lives, as well as the unmarried. The point is it is fine to hope for more or better, but not at the expense of our lives now. What live looks like now may not change anytime soon or it may never change. Should we waste away our now only hoping for better in the future? Where we are in life now is alright with God, it is where He has us now. And along with where He has us are callings and opportunities to make the most of it and live for Him…now.

Sometimes we even find ourselves in sickness, persecution or tribulation of some sort. God will see us through and things may get better. But until then, opportunity knocks. Ours is to recognize our ever-present help in the time of trouble and learn to completely trust Him. Tribulation builds character. We learn things in the tough times we wouldn’t learn in the easy times. We become people in the bad times we wouldn’t have become in the good times. No matter where we find ourselves in life or what is thrown our way, opportunity knocks. We can live for our God, learn to trust Him and be the better person for it.

A few closing verses come to mind:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5).

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

These verses do not suggest we wait until we feel we are at the top of our game. They aren’t for tomorrow, they are for today. For nearly three years I have been battling stage IV cancer to stay alive, and yet the blessings and opportunities along the way are countless. God is a good God in the good times and the bad, and we should make the most of our days, whether they are good or bad. Life is short no matter how long it is. It may change significantly, it may not. Make the most of every opportunity, it may be the only opportunity we have.