“Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1). The call to arise and shine is a wake up bell for believers who are passive spiritually. This is a prophetic message from Prophet Isaiah to the Jews who were living as sleeping or dormant giants. The Israelites of those days were stagnant because they were still sitting on the dust of past defeat and failure. Fear of the surrounding nations paralyzed them from expressing God’s glory.
There are many reasons for us to arise and shine. First, it is a command for the glory of God to be revealed. God’s glory is manifested when the giant in His children is awakened and active in exercising their divine mandate on earth. Second, we are called and equipped to shine with His glory. “as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” (2Peter 1:3). Third, God is demanding greater manifestation of His glory from us. “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts…” (Haggai 1:9). Lastly, we need to arise and shine so that God may be glorified. (Matthew 5:13-16). However, there are requirements which qualify God’s children for arising and shinning radiantly. The first is understanding our spiritual status. We are not just ordinary but spiritual beings housed in physical body. In fact, the Bible says we are made a little lower than the angels. The second is having in-depth knowledge of the word of God. The depth of your knowledge of Him is a function of the height and intensity of your shinning in glory. The third is Godly wisdom which makes the face of a person shine (Ecclesiastes 8:1). This is wisdom from above which releases creative ability into our mentality to become record breakers and pace setters in our field of specialization. Exploits are products of divine wisdom that makes a person inherit divine glory. The fourth is vision – this is the commitment given to service in ministry, business, career etc. To live without vision is to die in frustration! The fifth is righteousness which means to be in right standing with God based on the acceptance of Christ. Righteousness makes the path of a person shine in ever increasing brightness unto a perfect day (Proverbs b4:18).
It is a clear-cut fact that God has deposited and loaded us with enough resources top shine radiantly. You cannot but come alive to this thrilling truth, fan into flame the grace of God upon your life and become the shinning believer you are destined to be. God bless you. Happy New Month!
