New Light (Friday Devotional)

“Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”

- Isaiah 58:8-10

Imagine yourself standing alone in a dark room, the only illumination a lit candle in your hand. As minutes tick by, you can feel the heat of the flickering flame inch closer to your hand as the wax melts and the candle shrinks. There is no sunlight, no electric bulb, no flashlight—the moment your candle burns out, you will be plunged into total darkness.

But then a figure emerges from the other side of the room, someone you hadn’t seen through the dim light your candle provides. She holds in her hand a candle of her own, brand new, never before lit. She looks from her candle to yours, silently asking the question—will you light her candle with yours, will you draw from your meager flame to create one for her? Your choice is simple: you can let your flame fizzle out and lose any chance at light, or you can share what you have and create more light in the room than ever.

This is one of the great conflicts of the Christian life—when confronted with darkness, do you greedily cling to the light of Christ as something for you alone, or do you still seek to share it? Life presents plenty of moments in which darkness threatens to overcome you, whether for a brief moment or a lengthy season. When that happens, the tendency is to withdraw within yourself, to focus only on your problems, your situation. You become quick to cast blame and slow to forgive, pushing others away as you sink further into darkness. The feeling is that what you have to offer others you must save for yourself right now, that it is the only light you have left and you have to cherish it for as long as it will last.

But Scripture offers a different remedy—when you are falling into despair, instead of retreating inside the darkness, offer what light you have to others. When you want to be served, serve. When you want to be forgiven, forgive. When you want to be loved, love. And like the candle in the room, far from extinguishing your light, your sacrifice brings about double the illumination that existed before. By placing others before yourself in obedience to Christ, even and especially when you are struggling, “your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”

The wisdom of the world says that when you are struggling, you should retreat and regroup, focusing entirely on yourself until you get back on your feet again. But the cross pushes you to look beyond your own struggle and to give of yourself—even when you have next to nothing to give. The world’s way may let your flame keep flickering on for a few moments, but only Christ’s way can bring new light in the darkness.