Psalm 18:28-30 "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. (29) For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. (30) As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him."
"For thou wilt light my candle." Think about that. Jesus told us to,
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) I'm made
to wonder as I compare these two thoughts. How can we "let our light
shine?" I'm sitting here and looking out the window. I see two
sources of physical light as I do so. I have the manufactured light above my
head, but it does not begin to compare with the natural sunlight that is
outside my window. Which light does the most good? If I remember my 6th grade
science lesson, the electricity that powers this light inside ultimately comes
from the brilliant light that is outside the window. All energy has the sun as
its source. Taking that to a higher and holier level, all spiritual energy that
is seen in us, has the SON as its source. Therefore when Jesus tells us
to let our light shine, we must understand that the true source of that light
comes as a result of Him "lighting my candle."
I have no power of my own to produce true spiritual light. But as I place my
confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, I find myself having the strength to stand
up against all the evil that is in the world. I have the power to withstand the
enemy that would come against me to take me down. I have stamina to continue
even when walls try to keep me from following the Lord. The Light of Jesus
Christ leads me in the perfect way. His Holy Word is my guide. I learn to
depend upon Him to help me in the skirmishes that I face each day and to fight
those battles that are greater than me. I learn to wait upon Him to open the
way and lead me to that Rock that is higher than I. His light shines out
of the darkness that tries to surround me and its then that I see my Lord Jesus
is with me all the way. But my light is not producing the best results if I
keep that to myself. We are to glorify God before men by letting our light
shine. Does that mean they will always glorify Him? No, it doesn't. But that is
not what Jesus told us to do. We can't make anyone else glorify the Father, but
we can do our best to make sure that WE glorify Him no matter what others do.
"Lord, thank you for lighting my candle. I want to glorify you and I want
others to see that light so they will know that the power is from you and not
me. Thank you for empowering me to walk in your perfect way. Thank you for your
Holy Word that gives us direction in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen."