Don't let the world determine how brightly you shine for Christ.
I woke up this morning and did the same thing I always try to do. I opened my eyes and immediately said to my Father, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24, KJV). I then prayed over my day and those God had laid on my heart. I got up, took a shower, made my coffee, hugged my daughter, told her I loved her, and went to a quiet place to spend time with my Father before starting my workday.
It was a morning like so many others. But today, something was on my heart. You see, I am writing this the day after Election Day. Some woke up this morning ecstatic about the results. Others woke up discouraged, frustrated, and perhaps even fearful of what lies ahead. But here's something I want us to remember. Regardless of how we woke up feeling this morning, this is still the day the Lord has made! And we are still called to rejoice and be glad in it.
In the last chapter of my book, You Are The Man – Called According to His Purpose, I wrote a section titled "Dimming the Light." This section was based on Jesus' words during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14–16:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." — Matthew 5:14–16 (NIV)
In that section of my book, I shared a personal story about my daughter, Avalea, and how I, as her dad, was guilty of trying to dim her light. It wasn't intentional. In fact, I believed I was doing what was best for her. My heart was in the right place, or at least I thought it was. But God showed me something through that experience that I have never forgotten. Sometimes, even with the best intentions, we can get in the way of what God is doing. I'll leave the details of that story for you to read in the book, but the lesson has stayed with me ever since. We must be careful not to dim the light God has called us, or others, to shine.
I tell my daughter as often as I can, "Let your light shine!" In fact, if you were to look at the text messages between us, you would see a candle emoji. 🕯️ It's our thing. It's a simple reminder from her daddy to let her light shine wherever God has placed her.
This actually started when she was very little. My wife was serving as the children's director at our church, and I was putting together a video involving the children. Each child held a sign with a word on it. My daughter's word was SHINE. Those signs were later turned into canvases and displayed throughout the children's area of our church. Years later, after those children had grown, the church gave the canvases to their families. We still have hers. For years, that canvas hung in her bedroom. One simple word, SHINE. It has been a reminder to her, but it has also become a reminder to me.
You see, God has called us to be a light in this world, yet we so often allow the things of this world to put that light under a bowl. Think about how easily we allow our circumstances to dictate our attitudes, our joy, and even how we treat others. Hardships in life, family struggles, difficulties at work, people who are hard to deal with, traffic, financial struggles, and yes, even elections. These are just a few of the things we allow to determine whether our light will shine today.
We wake up frustrated because something didn't go our way. We become angry because someone disagrees with us. We allow disappointments to consume our thoughts, and before we know it, the light we are supposed to be shining has been placed under a bowl. Sometimes we even hand that bowl to someone else and allow them to put it over our light! But brothers and sisters, why are we allowing the world to control something that belongs to God?
Jesus didn't say, "You are the light of the world, as long as everything is going your way." He didn't say, "Let your light shine, as long as the right person wins the election." He didn't say, "Put your light on its stand, unless life gets difficult." No! He said, "YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD." Those are the words of our Creator! And notice that Jesus didn't tell us to hide our light when darkness surrounds us. Quite the opposite. He told us to put it on its stand so that it gives light to everyone around us. After all, where does light shine the brightest? In the darkness! Yet we spend so much of our time allowing the darkness around us to distract us from the very purpose God has given us.
I wonder how many opportunities we miss to encourage someone, love someone, or point someone to Jesus because we are too consumed with our own circumstances. How many times have we allowed a difficult person to steal our joy, only to turn around and treat the next person we encounter differently because of it? How many times have we let something completely outside of our control determine our attitude for the entire day? And how many times have we unintentionally dimmed someone else's light because we thought we knew what was best?
I have been guilty of it. That is why the story I shared about Avalea in my book means so much to me. God used my little girl to teach her daddy a lesson about His light, and I am still learning that lesson today.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 why we are to let our light shine: "That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Did you catch that? The purpose of our light is not to bring glory to ourselves. It is to bring glory to our Father! People are watching us. Our children are watching us. Our spouses, coworkers, neighbors, and friends are watching us. And for some of them, our lives may be the closest they ever come to opening a Bible.
So what are they seeing? Are they seeing the hope, joy, peace, and love of Jesus? Or are they seeing someone whose attitude and joy are controlled by the same circumstances that control the rest of the world? This isn't to say that life isn't hard. It is! There will be hardships, disappointments, struggles, and days when we feel overwhelmed. But those circumstances do not change who our Father is, and they certainly do not change what He has called us to do.
So here is my encouragement to you today. Go back and read Matthew 5:14–16. Don't just read those words. Believe them! Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." He is speaking to His followers. That includes you and me. Don't let someone else put your light under a bowl. Don't allow an election to dim your light. Don't allow the hardships of life to dim your light. Don't allow a difficult person to dim your light. And be careful that you aren't unintentionally dimming someone else's light.
Instead, put that light on its stand so that it shines on everyone around you. Not so they will see you, but so they will see your Father! Tomorrow morning, Lord willing, I will wake up and say those same words again: "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Because my joy is not dependent on who sits in the White House, what happens at work, or what difficulties I may face. My joy is found in the One who sits on the throne!
And when I text my daughter today, I'll probably send her that same little candle emoji. 🕯️ A reminder to her to let her light shine, and a reminder to her daddy to do the same.
Let your light SHINE!
-Chuckie