Devotional text: Luke 8:16-18 (AMP)

No one after he has lighted a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a (dining table) couch; but he puts it on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open. Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has (spiritual knowledge) will more be given; and from him who does not have (spiritual knowledge), even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.

Dear Friends

Looking at the world events and the things that happens to us and the people we love can indeed quench the light that we as Christians are suppose to bring into this world. People hiding their gifts and talents, since the thought that withholds us from doing something with our God-given lights becomes dimmer by the day. What meaning or positive difference can I make, I am just one little light and the darkness is so overwhelming, that surely it will scarcely be seen and whatever I do really doesn’t matter.

For this reason, people bury their talents by covering it up, doing something that they know they are not passionate about, but have to do to simply survive. Living as God’s children of light, we can know that God fuels our light through encountering that we have with Him through the interaction with one another. A student who attended a church camp once had the opportunity to share her testimony with a soldier, who thought that these children where all to Holy and that they would not associate themselves with them. However, she managed to strike up a conversation with the soldier sharing with him about the reason they were on this camp and how passionately she is about this since they will be going out on a outreach, bringing the people gifts which they had made during the first few days. Being amazed what is to follow; the soldier asked her whether he could get one of those plates with a Christian message. They made an arrangement where she would leave it for him, since they had to leave early the next morning. Upon her return she saw that it was gone and still until this day she is still praying for this soldier, that he may find the love of God, which moved her to reach out to him with the life-giving gospel. Without knowing it she has become a light to that soldier, because her light stood on a lamp stand for him to see and to recognise the living God within her life.

During this encounter with the soldier, her passion to serve people was disclosed to her even though she did not see it at that moment. For this reason does God reflect back to us how our light can brighten another person’s light, while we start to discover new things about ourselves.  The brighter our lights starts to shine the more we start to discover about ourselves even though its painful at first, but we also discover new gifts and talents by doing things that we were scared of at first and stepping out into the light through our faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, our text reminds us to be careful of the messages that we hear, because it is those messages that try to quench that light, that passion which we had and which is so implanted in the very nature of our being. Nobody wants to hide their God-given and thus it is my firm belief that our lights are being hidden from us by our personal fear of stepping out from the darkness that surround us by the things that we believe ourselves of what is true and therefore we allow others to define us and once we did that we become unmovable and it doesn’t matter how much other people try to show us how bright our light is really shining.
Over time we will realize that instead of feeling that we have lost our God-given knowledge, we have gained more are we draw nearer to Christ because of our fears what might be lying on the other side of this darkness what we experience.

What lies on the other side is better which our text confirms, but getting there is the most important step anyone can take and once you took that step and saw that doing it with God does indeed bring joy the other steps which is to follow becomes easier and without knowing it you will start to run, since you realise that with each step your light starts to brighten up. May this become a reality to you today. May your light be fuelled every time you step out and may you acknowledge those people in your life who believed that you can do it and who stick to you during the darkest parts of your walk with Him.

Amen