The Light Shines in the Darkness: 3 Inspiring Ways to Find Your Shine
When Jesus was born, the Bible tells us that ‘The light shines in the darkness.’ Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness of the world.
Melanie Redd beautifully explains that in Christ, we are the light that shines and how we can be His light in the darkness despite our circumstances.
Officially, they are called “solar-powered lanterns.”
I got them on Amazon because we needed more light in our backyard.
We have a large deck with a small pool surrounded by all sorts of trees and bushes. At night, it gets very, very dark.
When the lanterns arrived, I opened the box and turned on the switch on the bottom of each of the four solar lights. Then, I set them out to begin to soak in some sunlight.
However, the next couple of days were cloudy, and my new little lanterns did not get much solar power.
For a few days, NO LIGHT was coming from these lanterns.
And then the sun came out, and my little brown lanterns soaked in the sunshine all day long.
That night, it was absolutely beautiful! Those little lamps were shining in the darkness so proudly and so brightly. It was such a great sight.
Those lanterns were doing what they were created and constructed to do. They collected sunshine all day long, and then shone throughout the night.
In fact, when we got up to walk the next morning, the lights were still brightly shining in the early dawn.
Your Light Shines in the Darkness
We were created to shine, but sometimes the clouds roll in to our lives, and we don’t get to soak up the sunshine.
Sometimes life takes its toll, things get heavy, and worries weigh on our hearts.
However, we were created and constructed to be beacons of light!
Matthew 5:14-16 reminds us of the way Jesus put it:
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Losing Our Shine
Although most of us know that we were created to shine, just like my lanterns, we can lose our shine and our glow.
All of us have seasons where we don’t soak in as many rays and began to lose our light.
I’ve been there; maybe you are there today?
The Light Shines in the Darkness
How can we get back our warm glow when we lose our shine?
3 Ways to Find Your Light
#1 Light Shines in the Darkness: Press in Close to God.
Press in close to Jesus and talk to Him about your life.
Share the things that have broken your heart and dampened your joy and stolen your hope.
Pour out your heart and talk to Him about all of the things that are weighing you down.
I love the words of Hebrews 4:16,
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Go into the throne room of our great God, and get that grace and mercy that you desperately need.
#2 Light Shines in the Darkness: Soak Up the “Son-Shine” Every Possible Way You Can.
There are so many things we can do to soak up the Son-Shine.
Here are a few that I love:
First… Open the Bible and read it every day.
There’s something about being in the scriptures that rebuilds hope in our lives.
If you don’t know where to start, start in the Psalms and read one Psalm or a few verses from a Psalm every single day.
Second… Start praying all the time.
First Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us to “pray without ceasing.” Talk to God from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep.
Third… Begin to journal. Get a journal and start writing out your concerns and your prayers and your needs.
Somehow putting the heaviness of our hearts on to paper lightens the load.
Fourth… Get around some other people whose lives are full of “son-shine.”
Get in a great church or attend a Bible study.
Find friends that love Jesus and have coffee together. Time with other believers will encourage you and give you a fresh glow!
Finally… Get out and take a walk in the real sunshine and just let the rays fill your body and your heart.
Enjoy your Heavenly Father and enjoy the outdoors.
#3 Light Shines in the Darkness: Do What You Were Created to Do – Shine!
Just like those little solar-powered lanterns in my backyard, you and I were created to shine the light.
My little solar power lanterns don’t plug in, and they don’t have any batteries. In fact, they have no power source at all.
Instead, they are fitted with receptors and reflectors.
They receive the sun all day long, and they reflect it throughout the night (and often into the next day.
The same is true for us.
In our lives, there’s no power in and of ourselves. Yet, when we soak up the Son, the light will naturally flow out of us.
We were created to receive and reflect the source of all power and all beauty.
Truly, we were created to receive and reflect the Lord Jesus Christ. While we are here on this earth, we are His beautiful lanterns for a dark world to see.
As we shine in the darkness, others will see the light.
Others will be drawn to our Savior.
And… that’s the ultimate goal – we shine light in the darkness so others will come to know our Jesus.
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12
Light Shines in the Darkness on YouTube
Listen in as Melanie shares her story about finding light, connecting with the light, Jesus, and shining bright in the darkness.
To view our conversation on YouTube, click here: https://youtu.be/Ugsp4htDaB8
Author
Melanie Redd
Melanie is a best-selling author of nine books, a blogger, a speaker, and a podcaster. Her newest book – Just Rest: A Devotional Journal – is available
on Amazon. You can find out more about Melanie & her ministry at www.melanieredd.com.
