Light Shine Bright

I have been doing a little research on the Hebrew word for light, which is or. This word is made up of three Hebrew letters: aleph, vav, and Resh. (Side note: if you are not familiar with the Hebrew alphabet or words, bear with me and hang in there as we uncover some deep stuff!) The letter aleph represents strength, the letter vav represents a peg or nail, and the letter Resh represents the beginning or head of something. If you put these three letter representations together you get: the strength of the nail (Yeshua, Jesus) as the head (or authority) over light. This is my interpretation of this word. Ultimately Jesus is the light of the world: “Then Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12 HCSB I just think it is cool how the Hebrew connects to Yeshua himself as being the light of the world. Sure, we already knew that, but making such connections can be so enlightening. I know it is for me, at least.

So if Yeshua is the light and we are to be like Him, how can we truly make that light shine bright? This may seem like an easy question… but let me tell you. It’s not as easy to shine that light as it may sound. I picture the sunshine. When the sun is shining, it illuminates all the vibrant colors, architectural shapes, blooming plants, and gurgling water. We can go about our day without trouble of sight, because the sun promises to come up each morning day. However, when the sun is not shining, the illumination disappears into the shadows. The colors appear dull and the plants go into hiding for the night. Your senses recognize the difficulty it would be to walk outdoors during the night, in fear of the unknown that you may not be able to see. In a sense, it boils down to the light versus the darkness. When you possess the light of God, there is no room for darkness to make itself known. The light overwhelms the darkness, causing it to flee.

If you have the Word of God in your heart, share it with those around you. It doesn’t always have to be a “teaching” or “sermon”. It could be as simple as “God bless you”, or “Did you know that you are loved more than anyone in this universe by Yahweh, whom created you?”. If you have been gifted with worship, share that gift in humility and obedience to spread the light inside you that was given to you in the first place. Recently someone told me that they were thinking about going back to church (without knowing that I believe in God). I used this opportunity to encourage them to do so, because I knew that was God tugging on her heart, without her even knowing. Now I never knew if she went back to church, but I still used God’s light to encourage her to do what she felt she needed to do in that time of her life.

I think that it is important to always shine the light that is inside of us, even in the moments when we don’t feel like it. There are many times when the enemy tries to overtake the light. It is important to recognize when that happens (it can come in different ways) and overcompensate that darkness with more of God’s light. The way that I do it, is speak the promises of God over myself when I’m feeling down or discouraged by the enemy. Speaking out loud the promises of God is a powerful thing. The Word of God is a powerful weapon that is important for us to use against the enemy. Here’s the bottom line! Find the different ways to let your light shine bright so that there is absolutely no room for the enemy! Shine it up high on a hill for all to see. Not to boast in yourself, but to humbly share what you’ve been given so that all whom you encounter will be blessed and encouraged through the knowledge of the Lord!