Into the Light
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Living an everyday life of worship is about making choices to live in God, for God, and to God. It sounds like an easy thing to do, but in a world that can be dark and threatening, living a life of worship requires God’s light and power constantly activated and alive in us.
In the winter months, many people experience a mood depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder. One doctor told me that it is often associated with the lack of sunlight people in northern climates receive because of shorter days and the lower position of the sun in the sky. Not getting enough sunlight reduces our level of vitamin D and can cause fatigue, lethargy, and the blues. One treatment for this disorder is light therapy, where a person is exposed to polarized light to feed the body the nutrients it would normally get from the sun. For me, choosing to go outside each day for a run or walk does wonders for my attitude.Christ followers can also be affected by what I call ‘Cultural Affective Disorder’. Even though God’s fingerprints are evident in creation, we also live in a world that often takes a dim and wrong view of God. Every day in social media, movies, TV, radio, and print we are exposed to messages and values that fly in the face of the Christian worldview. The Bible clearly addresses this cultural problem:“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”2 Corinthians 4:4Like the lethargy of seasonal affective disorder, it’s easy to give into the spiritual darkness around us. Left unchecked, we can find our souls depressed, and our spiritual life dampened. The only remedy for ‘cultural affective disorder’ is regular exposure to the Light: God.The writer of 1 John put it this way:“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”I John 1: 5-7Living a life of worship is about choosing God and the light of His presence and Word over the messages of this world.Yesterday morning I tuned into a sports radio station to hear about a big football game that took place the night before. Within the first minute, the announcers had made extremely inappropriate sexual comments and had used God’s name in an ugly, ungodly way. Feeling slimed by their conversation, I turned off the radio saying to myself “I just wanted to hear about last night’s game!” At that moment, God’s still small voice called me to step away and pray. After some time with God in prayer and His Word, I felt refreshed and even prayed for the guys on the radio.Simply choosing to follow God’s prompting to spend time with Him in His light made all the difference that day.I pray that we will allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine in us each day so that we will become lights God uses to help other people find Him in a dark world.Today, choose to spend time with God in the light of His presence and Word.Blessings to you, my friends!Chris[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]