Light
of the World
Matthew
5:14-15
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15 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.
Jesus says we are a light, not to be hidden but to
provide light to all those around us. Yet, when things get heavy for me, my
natural inclination is to retreat to where there is nobody around me and I can
feel safe. The enemy wants us to feel
fear, wants us to be exhausted and wants us to believe the lie that we are “unusable”
to God. Why do I want to retreat? Usually it’s because I’m tired and I just
want peace and for some reason I think I can find peace in the middle of
nowhere with nothing but nature. The
trick is to find peace in the middle of chaos – this thing called life – where people
every day challenge our thinking and our peace.
It’s clear that Jesus wants us to not hide. It’s probably the only reason why I don’t
move to the middle of nowhere and turn into a hermit. It sounds so good though. When you are a “lamp” you expose yourself to
all the darkness around you…and maybe you can reflect light in the perimeter
around you, but beyond that perimeter at some point begins darkness again. Just this morning I was thinking how nice it
would be to “retreat”. Thankfully I’m
reminded by this scripture that I’m not here for me, but here for God, to
provide light to the darkness…because where there is light, darkness cannot
exist. So, maybe I just need more alone
time with God before I charge into the world each day and make myself
exhausted. Maybe that’s the message to me. Slow down, renew my mind with the truth and
then maybe I can have peace among the chaos and provide some light to those
around me.
Father, God, help me at this
very moment to not crave peace somewhere away from everyone but help me to
crave peace right here in front of everyone.
When everything starts to get ‘weird’ and feel heavy, help me to still
be the light, to encourage those who are discouraged and to remember that I’m
to be a “lamp” providing light, His light, to those around me. Help me get my energy back and help me to have
the wisdom to find your will and stay in the middle of it. I pray for Angels to stand guard around me and I
bind all the enemies plans in Jesus’ name, Amen.
