Arise and Shine!

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1-2).

There is a light inside every single one of us. It's a light so strong that no enemy, no opposition, no situation, no device, no critic, and no circumstance can put out.  Sometimes, we don't realize just how bright this light is.  Others see it and it attracts them to us.  They find themselves wanting to be around us more and more. They don't even know why. They are curious about what they see in us. This light is Jesus Christ.  It is amazing that the King of the Universe, the Saviour of this world would choose to abide in plain ol' us, but He does.  A couple of days ago, I sat in my car during my lunch break pondering over the verse above. It was a gray and cloudy day which was about to burst in rain.  As I sat there, the words almost popped out of the pages that the prophet Isaiah penned- Arise, shine, for thy light is come.  The glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. The more I read it, it seemed like the words were coming alive to me.  The verse is referring to Zion and the coming Messiah, but at that moment, God used them to speak to my life. They spoke so strongly to me that I got goosebumps. I realized what a treasure I have living inside of me.  Such a powerful yet tender and merciful God lives inside my heart.  What a privilege!  I read the words over and over again, soaking them in each time. All of a sudden, despite the gray blanket that covered the sky,suddenly a light broke through the clouds.  It came out of no where.  It shined right on me through my car windows.  It kept getting brighter and brighter to the point, that I could barely see around me. For the next five minutes  I was in awe. Despite the rain clouds and gray sky around me, this beautiful light broke through and took the time to rest on plain ol' me. God spoke to me right there and then and said, This is me inside of you.  No gray day can ever block my light in you.  No circumstance can ever keep me from shining in you. I can never be hidden in you. This experience is what I call a love note.  These are moments when God sends sweet little reminders that He is with me and that He loves me.  He says it over and over again, yet I never get tired of hearing it.  I got out of my car and went back to my students that day with the realization that there was something in me that this world needs.  They need the light!  They don't need me.  They need the light. And by-golly I'm going to let Him shine!