This morning in prayer time I was drawn to Isaiah 60:1; " Arise, Arise for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you." .... However, I didn't hear or see anything....So, I went a head and started my day! As I was driving to my first patients' home all I could think about was the intense warfare from yesterday... ...trying to understand what was all about...Literally, as soon as my feet hit the floor yesterday morning the enemy started working on my mind... Battled him the entire morning... even through my prayer time... I just could not focus on the Lord.... I would rebuke...bind.... plea the blood... and still he was there... like a nagging gnat!! Then when I went to crank my car (by the way it's a new car only 6 months old...) it would not crank.... That did it for me... I got mad and started just yelling at the enemy... Standing my ground... Standing on the promise that God has given me over him..... About 30mins later...I felt better...!
But as I was pondering all of this... I started worrying that maybe I had failed God in someway.. This new job is certainly taking a lot of brain time.... I am not able to focus on God as much as I am use too... that has really bothered me...Just then I heard: You passed the test~Don't worry! I praised God... thanking Him for that reassurance...but wondered what that meant...what did the "test" mean...
Throughout the course of the day... one patient after another asked me if I wanted a light on... I would just laugh and say I was fine...but each time I was asked that I would be quickened to something my grandmother use to tell me all the time.. "Erica, honey...don't ruin your eyes turn on a light... a bright light!" and I would even share it with my patients... Well, finally I arrived at my last patients' home and she said to me, "We have plenty of power... we can turn the light on...." (this was the third patient to tell me this..) Again, I just laughed and again shared the story of my grandmother... Really thinking nothing about it... But as I was pulling out of her drive way... it finally hit me...I was then reminded of the verse that I was drawn to this morning...
Isaiah 60:1 (NIV)
" Arise, Arise for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you."
God confirmed that word 3 times... through three different patients.... and a quickened memory of my late grandmother. But what was he actually saying?
God has been turning on the lights since Genesis.
Genesis 1: 3-4
"God said, "Let there be light" and there was light. God saw the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. "
Exodus 13:21
" by day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and by night a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel by day or night. "
In Genesis we learn that God created the light and that it is good....in Exodus we learn that even though we may be traveling at night...walking in darkness...God will provide the light for our paths... so we won't stumble...and get taken off of the narrow walk way that leads to Him. What a beautiful picture!
But how does this relate to the word I was given?
KJV: Isaiah 60:1
"Arise, shine; for the light is come and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee."
So what God is saying through Isaiah the prophet here is this: Rise up, Stand...light has come..and the splendor...the abundance of the Lord is coming forth... is appearing...
Throughout the day as each patient would ask me if I wanted "the light" but each in a different form..
1st: "Turn on the light" ...a command
2nd: "Do you want some light" ....a question
3rd: "We have plenty of power...We can turn on the light" ... a proclamation
Quickened memory of my grandmother: "Erica, honey...don't ruin your eyes turn on a light... a bright light!" ... an informative plea...
Fill thy cup:
I have given you my light, and I am shining upon you even now...giving you more light... I need you to examine all areas of your life as I provide the light... sift through...with clarity I provide the vision... not disturbing what has already been grounded in you...I want to give you more...Plenty, as I have so much more to offer you... Accept the light that I am shining on you... offer up to me the areas that are still in darkness... You have felt cluttered lately, let's bring the the clutter to light together... So your path will be clear... as you are able to see with more clarity... these dark areas will become more visible... I will chase the darkness away... My desire is for no darkness to remain in you.. I want to make you radiant... A BRIGHT LIGHT... a beacon....my beloved how precious you are in my sight!
