Isaiah 60:1-7 MSG "Get out of bed, Jerusalem! Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight. God’s bright glory has risen for you. The whole earth is wrapped in darkness, all people are sunk in deep darkness. But God rises on you; his sunrise glory breaks over you.”
Actor and musician Denis Quaid, raised Baptist but now addicted to cocaine, was one night touched by a white light in his home. He saw himself dead or in jail and everything in his life fall apart. The light and the vision shook him to his core. Denis started reading his Bible again and returned to his faith in God. He now shares his faith in movies and in person wherever God gives him the opportunity.
Isaiah 60:1-7 speaks of a great light and glory that will come upon God's people, bringing restoration and prosperity. It encourages us to arise and let our light shine, for it is the glory of the Lord upon us. It says all people groups will be drawn to our light, and leaders with authority to the brightness of our light.
This passage brings us hope and encouragement, reminding us that God's light and glory will ultimately prevail over darkness and oppression.
Joel Osteen shared an account of a man he knew from Alaska whose family for several generations had been heavily involved in the occult and witchcraft. In fact, his father was the head of the cult in that area and he told us something very unusual. He said his dad could leave his physical body and move through the spirit world.
One night his spirit left his body, and he went to this home to curse it and cast a spell on the man who lived there. But he said when he got there, he thought it strange that he could not penetrate the walls of the home. Normally he could just go right in through the walls. Instead, he looked through the window and he saw a man who was dark, and sitting around him were people who were lit up like very bright light bulbs..
Come to find out, the group were believers in Jesus, and they had come over to this man’s home to have a Bible Study. He said when those people were present, he did not have the power to enter that home. He told his son later, “Son, if believers ever really knew the spiritual power they have, they would never be afraid again.”
You don't really know or see, perhaps take for granted, the light and the power you have in Jesus as His disciples. Isaiah 60 is a call to awaken spiritually, to be aware of God's presence and His light that shines on your life.
Be encouraged to allow your light to shine, reflect God's glory, and attract others to Him through your actions and words. That light has the power to overcome darkness--lies, injustice, sickness, addiction, and all the works of darkness. I challenge you to live a life that honors God and shines brightly for Him. Put your face in the Son, receive the glory, God's glorious illumination is on you!