How to Let My Light Shine

Psalm 119:96-112 What a privilege to be the container of God’s glory. However, for His glory to shine out of our lives, we have to fulfill two conditions—to hear and heed God’s word. In Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, David declares what the Word of God means to Him. He says, “You word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105).

For God’s glory light to keep shining through us, we must continue in God’s Word and abide in His Word daily. As we hear and heed His Word, He lights our path.

I remember being on a camping trip, and the bathroom was a good distance from our cabin. The only way I could find my way was to carry a flashlight. As I shone the light on my path, I could avoid the roots and rocks that might trip me up. The Word of God is our flashlight, and only His Word can save us from the roots of bitterness and the rocks of deception along the path of life. If the flashlight I planned to use on the camping trip had no batteries, I would have been in a mess. Just as a flashlight without batteries is useless, the Word without the Holy Spirit energizing and enlightening it to us is not useful. The Holy Spirit is the One who relays God’s Word to us in an understandable, practical way. It is true that the Word of God never returns void and it always accomplishes what it is sent to do, but our receptivity of the Word of God depends upon our heart condition. Do we have a willing heart to learn and to apply God’s Word in our lives? David said, “I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end” (v. 112).

We must hear God’s Word with not just our physical ears, but also with an obedient heart. When we do this, the batteries in our spiritual flashlights will always be charged and ready to shine a light on our path. There are things that can block God’s glory light from shining from our lives. The main block is unbelief and unforgiveness. I remember Corrie ten Boom giving a demonstration with a flashlight. She picked up a flashlight, turned it on and nothing happened. In her heavy Dutch accent she exclaimed, “What on earth is wrong with this flashlight? I keep turning the switch and nothing happens.” Then she looked inside the flashlight and pulled out two dirty rags. “No wonder this light would not shine!” she exclaimed. Then she shared all of our own righteousness is as dirty rags. We must have the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and we must walk in that righteousness. The only way to do this is to confess our sins to Him and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Even clean rags, however, in a flashlight will block it from shining. Those dirty rags (the sin in our lives of unbelief and unforgiveness) may become clean, but they must be replaced by the Holy Spirit’s love. To cause this flashlight to operate, we need to put the batteries of God’s love inside the flashlight. The love of God and also the glory of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.