In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God's Spirit was moving over the water.
Then God said, 'Let there be LIGHT,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness. God named the light 'day' and the darkness 'night.' Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day."---Genesis 1:1-2 (NCV)
"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."---Edith Wharton
Light: something that makes things visible or affords illumination; an illuminating agent or source, as the sun, a lamp, or a beacon; the radiance or illumination from a particular source; daylight; daybreak or dawn; a device for or means of igniting, as a spark, flame, or match; the aspect in which a thing appears or is regarded; the state of being visible, exposed to view, or revealed to public notice or knowledge; limelight; a person who is an outstanding leader, celebrity, or example; luminary; spiritual illumination or awareness; enlightenment; mental insight; understanding
Synonyms: ablaze, bright, brilliant, clear, glowing, phosphorescent, polished, radiant, resplendent, rich, shining, unclouded, vivid, well-lit
Antonyms: dark, dim, gloomy, obscure
OK, do you all remember how at the top of the year I said that I believed that God was going to provide us with insight on how to get back to the Kingdom of Heaven? I am thrilled...stoked...geeked that he would impress upon me to do a week on creation; on how we can get our personal lives back to the Garden and the way he intended for our lives to be pre-sin. (Psalm 18:30)
I am truly "wingin' it" in the sense that I have no clue where he is taking me as I type, so I'm not sure how long (or short) these will be. What I do know is that if you read all of these and ask God to reveal some "hidden things" (Jeremiah 33:3) to you, your life, come Sabbath (Day Seven), will not be the same!
Just this morning, when I was talking to one of my spiritual sistahs about this "project", I was telling her how different many of our lives would be if we just got the FIRST DAY of creation right; if we actually asked God each morning, "Let there be light!" and then waited for him to separate the "darkness" from our lives. Of course, in the physical/earthly sense, day/night already exist, but what I want to impress upon you is to reflect on this scripture for the sake of applying it to your human trinity (mind/body/spirit):
"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lamp stand so the people who come in can see. Your eye is a light for the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But when your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. So be careful not to let the light in you become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you."---Luke 11:33-36 (NCV)
Your eye is light for the body. Yes, one definition of "eye" is "the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina". (I know, right?). Oh, but let's look deeper:
Eye: sight; vision; the power of seeing; appreciative or discriminating visual perception; an attentive look, close observation, or watch; regard, view, aim, or intention; a manner or way of looking at a thing; estimation; opinion; a center of light, intelligence, influence, etc.
WOW. I mean, really...WOW. In other words, your "sight" is light for the body. Your "vision" is light for the body (write the visions, y'all!-Habakkuk 2:2-3). Your "discriminating visual perception" (uh, that would be discernment-Philippians 1:9) is light for the body. Your (good) "intention" is light for the body. Your (godly) "influence" is light for the body. And, the Word says that when your eyes are GOOD (Psalm 25:8), your whole body is full of light...spiritual awareness...enlightenment...understanding.
Recently, I was talking to another sistah friend of mine about "unsafe people". She calls them "emotional vampires" (love it!). As I gave that term some of my mental energy, I thought, "...but legends say that vampires only come out at night...in the dark." If we stay "in the light", wouldn't those people who prey and suck the life out of us stay at bay as well? It makes logical sense, especially since one definition of light is "mental insight". For me, this definitely gives Psalm 18:28 (NKJV) an entirely different perspective:
"For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness."
I don't know about you, but there have been so many times when I have read about being "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) and found it to be more poetic than literal. Oh, but now, I am starting to really get it. By asking God to bring himself, THE LIGHT, into our lives, what we are essentially saying is that we desire to be "bright"..."brilliant"..."clear"..."polished"..."radiant"...and "rich" (on the rich tip, check Proverbs 10:22). When light comes, things are made visible...daybreak enters...things are exposed to view...we become more aware.
Hmm...no wonder I've always had issues with phrases like "blind faith". Again, the Word says that when your eyes are filled with GOOD (Hebrews 11:6), you are filled with LIGHT and when you are filled with light, you can see things more clearly than you might think you can:
"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."---Psalm 112:4 (NKJV)
Some of you, right now, at this very moment, feel like you are "in the dark" about a certain matter. You are worrying yourselves sick about what to do (Matthew 6:34). You know what you can do? You can go to your prayer closet and speak to your Creator and say, "Lord, let there be light!" and then wait (Psalm 27:14) for him to separate the darkness from you. Is it really that simple? I believe so.
Recently, I was talking to one of my friends about a non-marital-but-romantic relationship that she was in and I asked, "Are you happy?"
She said, "No."
"Then why are you in it?" I inquired.
"Happiness is relative," was her response.
Relative: something dependent upon external conditions for its specific nature, size, etc.
Oh, if I could only get her to shed some "light" onto her situation. It appears that her internal conditions are displeased because of many of the external conditions; that her unhappiness is related to her choice to settle for less than what she wants out of life. By spending time with God, because he is light and because light brings about awareness, I'm sure he would spiritually illuminate her way into something greater, but it's only in acknowledging God that she can get that kind of direction. (Proverbs 3:6)
Today is Sunday, Day One, of the Creation Week Series. Whatever appears to be "dim", "gloomy" or "obscure" to you, I ask that you go to the Father and petition him (I John 5:14-15) for LIGHT to be shed upon your situation. Some of us are praying "Day Six" blessings when we don't even have the "Light" in our lives to be able to see it when it comes. (Uh-huh) Oh, don't you love how we serve a God of order? (I Corinthians 14:40)
See you on Day Two.
©Shellie R. Warren/2009
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Links to Other Things...
http://sohowdidyouknow.blogspot.com/ http://beforeyoujumpthebroom.blogspot.com/ http://xxxchurch.com/gethelp/women/ http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Me-Lessons-Lu... Here's to a divine connection,
Shellie R. Warren
Posted By: The SISTAHS Ministry
Friday, April 10th 2009 at 9:48AM
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