Light in the Darkness: The Light on the Hill

In my last post, Light in the Darkness: Why Would You NOT Tell that Story? I mentioned my friend John Perron and his challenge to show Christ's relevance in other's lives by telling about His relevance in mine. People see how Christ can impact their stories by seeing how He has impacted mine. My story isn't just a story. For those in dark places, which is anyone--believers in Christ or not--at various times, it is a light on a hill. It is the place God shows up and shows off, and I have been asking, "How can I show you more?"

In my last post, I talked about the challenge to simply tell my story. For folks to see the light, there has to be a light to see.

Then I began to ask the Lord, "How can I make my fire brighter and more consistent?"

After thinking about it and praying, I can identify three things that affect how my fire looks to those in the darkness:

1. How bright my fire shows because of the stories I tell. There are so many examples in my life of how things happen that were not done in my power or with my ability. Those are the fuel. Those have to be loaded on heavy and often.

2. The whining and anxiety I spew feeds the darkness and distracts from the fire. The Bible says to share our needs with other believers so they can pray and add practical help when they can, but too often "sharing" is simply whining and confessing anxiety due to a lack of expectation of God coming through. Sometimes it is blatant attacks on God's character that He is somehow failing because look what is happening NOW and the pity party is off and running. I try not to spew, so I go silent, which isn't the answer either. I'm still praying on this, but I have some ideas. I'll get back to that in another post.

3. Expect Him to be amazing. When Daniel found out about the edict to kill all the wise folks if they couldn't give the king his dream and its interpretation, he didn't walk into the room with his friends and say, "We're all gonna die if God doesn't show up in a big way." Nope. He said, "We are going to pray because God can show up in a big way." He wasn't sure if God would or not. When he went into the lion's den, he didn't say, "God will save me." He said, "God CAN save me. Even if He doesn't, I choose to be in His hands instead of that idol's." God has shown up huge before. He can do it again. Even if He doesn't, I still choose to be in His hands than any where else, and it isn't because He expects me to be that good. It's because I know He IS that good.

And I don't want anything to keep people from knowing how good He really is.
 

Copyright 2014 Jerri Kelley Phillips