Are You Shining Today?
Several years ago I went through a very long period of feeling overwhelmed by a challenge that was so discouraging and wasn't changing. There were times when I felt stuck in a dark place and all I wanted to do was hide away at home. I went through days when I had all I could do to push through feelings of defeat. Have you ever felt that way? Finally, one day God spoke to me and said, "You cannot live like this. You were made to shine. You need to look out beyond this problem because I have new opportunities. I am still working in the middle of your difficulty."
It's easy to get so focused on a problem that it diminishes your joy. The Scripture says, "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day"(Proverbs 4:18). It doesn't say some days are meant to be bright and others dim. It says that even in a dark season we are to have a joy and passion for life. Jesus prayed that we may have "the full measure" of His joy within us (John 17:13). He wants us to "shine in this world like stars in the sky" (Philippians 2:15) and live with enthusiasm and with expectancy of what He can do in our lives.
If there's a problem in your life that is holding you back from living in God's joy, you have to receive what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18--19). God is saying, "Do you recognize the new thing I'm doing in your life? Don't wait to have faith when the problem takes care of itself, because I'm doing some new things right now. Look for it! Watch and see what I will do. It is a new thing."
Are you shining today, or are you a bit dim? Is there a black cloud over you? I believe that God has a word for someone who is reading this today. Don't focus so much on an area of your life that needs to change or on something you want to happen. Don't waste your precious time, your precious life, when God has already put "new things" into motion. He's making a way for you through the wilderness right now. New opportunities, new ways of doing things, and new growth is spring up for you to have today. Can you see it?
It's easy to get so focused on a problem that it diminishes your joy. The Scripture says, "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day"(Proverbs 4:18). It doesn't say some days are meant to be bright and others dim. It says that even in a dark season we are to have a joy and passion for life. Jesus prayed that we may have "the full measure" of His joy within us (John 17:13). He wants us to "shine in this world like stars in the sky" (Philippians 2:15) and live with enthusiasm and with expectancy of what He can do in our lives.
If there's a problem in your life that is holding you back from living in God's joy, you have to receive what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18--19). God is saying, "Do you recognize the new thing I'm doing in your life? Don't wait to have faith when the problem takes care of itself, because I'm doing some new things right now. Look for it! Watch and see what I will do. It is a new thing."
Are you shining today, or are you a bit dim? Is there a black cloud over you? I believe that God has a word for someone who is reading this today. Don't focus so much on an area of your life that needs to change or on something you want to happen. Don't waste your precious time, your precious life, when God has already put "new things" into motion. He's making a way for you through the wilderness right now. New opportunities, new ways of doing things, and new growth is spring up for you to have today. Can you see it?