Day 40
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. But the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1–2)
“Arise, shine; for your light has come!” Arise in the light of our Father’s adoring gaze. Shine with the knowledge that you are His beloved—treasured, valued, precious, and adored.
“The glory of the LORD has risen upon you”—not as you hope to be someday, but as you are right now. Our Father shares His glory—His nature of lovingkindness—with you. He created you to be like His Son.
“Darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people.” That darkness will seek to gain a foothold in your soul. Satan is consumed with hatred of all things good—especially the “very good” of you. He will seek to smother God’s glory by twisting your thoughts and destroying your life and witness on earth. As believers, we are in a monumental battle.
But light shines best in total darkness. Through it all the promise remains. “The LORD will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you.”
And so, in the confusion and hatred of the world—in famines, pandemics, and wars—we cling to God’s Word. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35, 37). We cling to God’s promises and know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We bring our thoughts into agreement with what God says:
“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him” (2 Peter 1:3). We will be “filled to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). “When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). “As He [Jesus] is so also are we in this world” (1 John 3:17). “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
We are more than conquers by believing God and living out all that He has promised for us. We triumph by bringing light into the darkness of our trials and exalting Him above the mountain of our afflictions. In the face of all Satan throws at us, in the darkest circumstances of our lives, we win by laying down our wants and choosing God’s will (God’s way of love) above our own. “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). 81
Jesus did this. And we shall do the same.
Creation longs that we rise and shine in the likeness of God’s Son. “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:18–19).
I want to encourage you. You are here, now, in this hour of history to live as the beloved son/ daughter of God you were created to be. You are here to resonate with Jesus and radiate His life—His glory—to the world.
I wish I could sit with you and hear your story. I wish I could watch through the words of this devotional and see you overcome the enemy’s lies, arise in bold assurance and shine with the goodness of God.
Life on this planet is your opportunity to live out God’s will—to bring God’s will to earth. God’s glory is upon you as you go about your everyday “ordinary” life in the extra ordinary life of God. You are light in the darkness. You are a spirit-soul-body channel of God’s love. Our Father manifests His love to the world through His Son, and He manifests His love today, in the chaos and evil of this world, through you.
Ponder for a Moment
“Arise, shine for your light has come!”
How are you personally challenged and encouraged by these words?
May the Holy Spirit strengthen you in the tears and triumphs of the days ahead. May your eyes be opened and your soul restored so that you see our Father as He really is. May Jesus’ love fill your heart and pour from you so that all people everywhere are encouraged to come and see that “God is love.”
Onward precious beloved. Amen. Amen. And Amen.