Mustering the Courage to Shine

The United Methodist Church in Oklahoma held its Annual Conference this week, which allowed me the opportunity to speak at our Wednesday night CONNECT service.  The theme of the night was Shining our Light and Exposing the Darkness.  This message was actually one of the first ones I had begun to write over a year ago.  I could never quite finish it and never really had the warm fuzzy feeling that it was going to have this overwhelming impact.  But God knew.  He knew just the right time that it would be needed, not just for me, but also for the people sitting in our room last night.  So here are a few resources that influenced me to pull it all together (physically, emotionally, in writing) and will hopefully let you know:  that you are never alone, fear is not unique, nor is it picky or very far away, and we are all capable of Shining!

1. I follow several blogs and Grace Uncommon had a title that caught my eye, 'When Fear has you stopped:  Shining your light in a dark world'.  And she says it is not hard to grow weary.  Attacks are usually aimed at our weaknesses.  There is a feeling of defeat (raising my hand) and a lure to stop fighting (hand still raised - raise it high!).  The fear is real – for safety, security, comfort and peace.  Fear of being vulnerable, imperfect, of failure and grief.  Fear lures us to stop, to give up and quit.  We need to boldly rise and shine our light, for each of us has been given a gift for such a time as this.  2 Corinthians 4:8-9 tells us that we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.  Perplexed, but not in despair.   Persecuted, but not abandoned.  Struck down, but not destroyed.   

We don’t need to be fearless to be brave, we just need to stand up and be brave anyway!

2. What I have experienced in my own life, and what God has opened my eyes to is that this is a stark reality for so many people - darkness, despair, hurt.  Holly Gerth writes in her blog INcourage Me, not EN, but IN –I just love that!?  She says “it is okay to be broken… it is okay to hurt”.  And you know why?  Colossians 1:17 says “God holds all things together”.  It is not in our job description to hold it together all the time, but IT IS in God’s.  It is okay to have hard days, to cry, to be concerned about the future – but NONE of it is too big for God.  Matthew 11:28, come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.  She nails it in her blog – Trying to be perfect is exhausting!  Ignoring the hurt drives it deeper! Pretending our pain isn’t real only makes it yell louder to get our attention!  Be broken.  God really wants to hold you together.

3. Johnathan Cahn writes in his May article for Charisma Magazine:  Elijah was engaged with the nation and culture surrounding him.  He was a light shining in its darkness.  We must be the same.  No matter what age we live in and no matter what the state of its culture, our calling to be the light of the world remains.  The light doesn’t ignore the darkness.  The light doesn’t pretend that the darkness isn’t really that dark.  It doesn’t tone down its light to be politically correct or not to offend.  It doesn’t hide its radiance in fear of persecution.  Nor is it content to live a self-absorbed existence focusing on itself and its own prosperity.  If it does any of these things, then it ceases being the light.  What does the light do?  It shines.  It lights up the darkness.  It changes the world around it.  And I absolutely love this part:  How can we make a difference if we are afraid of being different?

As He works in my life, which is still crowded with fear, and cracked, and broken, I know that it is vital to keep throwing my legs over the side of the bed, no matter how strong the pull to curl back up under the covers.  Too often we become consumed with sitting in the shadows, and we bargain with God, we dare Him to show Himself, to make Himself tangible - then it would be uncomplicated to believe.  I think this is one of the hardest tasks we can ever challenge ourselves to...to deliberately work daily to completely believe that even though we do not see Him, He is there.  When it is dark at night and you look out your back door, you have a hard time seeing your patio.  That doesn’t mean your patio is suddenly absent.  You just have to flip on the light.  Just because we can’t visibly see God with earthly eyes, doesn’t mean that His Word isn’t having an effect on our lives.  The only thing that changes when you turn on the light…is YOU - YOUR perspective. 

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

Whether your light switch is on or off, He is the same - yesterday, today, tomorrow.  What changes is how you grasp Him.  What are we here for if not to confidently stand in the middle of this dark world and if for nothing else, to shine our light boldly in the midst of brokenness and fear? You never know who is going to need it...I was thanked last night by a widow who had been the caretaker of her husband, someone who had been through multiple surgeries and was struggling to just have a "normal day", someone who had lost a child, a person who had struggled with perfection and appearances, parents letting their youngest leave home and write his own story...we all have that fear that maybe God took a vacation day when the reality is that He holds the fort down 24/7.   

Whatever darkness is threatening today to dim your light, may you find your faith bigger than your fear so that you may be brave, be different, swing your feet over, and SHINE.