Rise and Shine

When I was little I used to spend the summers at my grandparents working on their farm. Farm work starts VERY early and either my mom or grandmother would come in my room each morning and say, “Rise and Shine” or “it’s time to get up it’s time to get going, go, go, go, work, work, work, play, play, play.” This used to drive me nuts especially when I was a teenager. I might arise but I’m certainly not going to shine this early in the morning. However at my grandparents, bad attitudes and crankiness were not tolerated so you better learn to shine or else.

Fast forward to life now and I’ve discovered where this whole rise and shine thing comes from. I was listening to a message this week and the verse Isaiah 60:1 kept coming up. It says, “Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” God is saying in Isaiah to arise and shine the glory has come upon you. When you accept Christ, the light of the world, as your savior he takes up residence within you and will cause your life to shine. Often as a Christian I’ll attend one conference after another, listen to one message after another waiting for more instructions from God on what to do next. When all along, Christ is telling me to Arise and start Shining now. Don’t wait until your circumstances are perfect  or you’ve heard another  Word from God to do what he’s already told you to do, start shining now. Lift up your head, fix your gaze on God and his word then start shining.

God has a plan and a calling for each of us to shine his light into the dark places of this world. Maybe your work place is dark, your neighborhood or even your own home. Wherever it is, as a person who the light of the world lives in, I encourage you to start shining today. Use the gifts God has placed inside of you to bring brightness to your sphere of influence. Someone is waiting for you to start shining today:)

Here’s a little song to get you shining.

Sincerely,
Paige