Lights on

You, Lord, are my lamp;
the Lord turns my darkness into light.
- 2 Samuel 22:29 (NIV)

What an incredible joy is in this verse! We think often of light representing goodness, godliness - we read and sing of being lights of the world, being radiant for God, letting our lights shine. But this verse makes that truth even deeper for me.

Look at the hope this little verse holds:

Firstly, the LORD is our lamp. We are not shining our lights, but His. All the light is His. It is God's glory that we want to radiate, not our own.
We can not shine anything of eternal value in our own strength. So let's not try. And let's not worry ourselves because we think WE can't shine for Him. Because that's true. You, Lord, are my lamp.

And secondly, what really excites me about this verse...
Everyone has regrets. We all have periods of darkness in our lives. We talk about how when God forgives, He forgets the sin and we can move on. But I think that's only a part of it. God doesn't just forget the sin - He is able to use the effects of our sin for His glory. No matter what we have experienced or done 'in the dark', God is able to redeem it.

Have you ever been encouraged and drawn closer to God because of the testimony of someone who has been transformed by Him, or someone who has been faithful in hard times? Do you know people who are able to relate and minister to hurts in others because they have also 'been there'? God is able to use our dark times to create beauty in our lives and in the lives of others.

What an incredible God we love and serve. Not only does He give us light to live by, but He transforms our darkness, no matter how dark, into light, so that as we shine for Him, we are satisfied and He is glorified.

Lord, shine in us!