ARISE AND SHINE
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1
The word arise has many definitions: To stand up, get out of a reclining state, prepare to go, to get up after a fall, to recover from a wound, to come out of a state or condition, to arise in a hostile state as to war, to start, to make a move, to begin a journey to a specific location, rouse up, awaken, to be posted for battle, to stir up, to do that which is needed to help.
There are so many definitions to arise but one thing I see is that Arise is an action word. It is also a word that implies that prior to doing this action we were in no way obviously doing what we should be doing. God would not tell us to arise if we were not in a reclining state. I’m not talking about sitting around on our Lazy boy recliners watching hours of TV, but rather our spiritual stands and our daily disciplines have become passé and rather inconvenient to our everyday lives.
To arise is to respond to a command. Some of us just have to make a choice, some of us just have to make a move, some of us have to get up from a fall, and some of us have to recover from a wound. In each of these it is simply a response. A choice! You don’t have to stay in the same condition you have been in. The light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
We forget that God did not save us to make us comfortable but rather to use us to do His work of reaching the lost and hurting people of the world. It’s His light shining through us that draws those who are lost in darkness.
Satan will not give them up easily. They are treasures! These treasures can’t be won when we are sitting around doing nothing. We can’t expect others to do what we are unwilling to do ourselves. God has called us! It’s not an easy call, but what an honor to be used by God to reach treasures.
Remember that someone sacrificed time for you in prayer, evangelism, time, and finances so that you could be treasure won for Christ. Today there is a battle for our husbands, children, family, neighbors, bosses, and friends. There may only be one thing standing between them and hell. It may very well be you! Does that matter to you? Or does you’re down time, soap opera time, relaxation time mean more to you. I know that may sound harsh but remember that before I can say anything to you, God has said it to me, and I would rather God be blunt and truthful with me rather than let me continue on comfortable and useless!
I know how easy it is to languish in the comforts God gives us. It becomes easy to not think about difficult things like the devil, sacrifice, warfare, and hurting people. How unpleasant to think of hurting people…addicts, prostitutes, gang members, suicidal businessmen, single parents, homeless, widows, abused children, those in prisons and the list goes on. Have we become those who exclaim, “Won’t someone do something about these problems?”
Psalms 94:16 Who will rise up for me …….?
Victory Outreach Church, this is our challenge in 2017. It’s our time to Arise and Shine!
Joann Lee
