Devotion for Isaiah 60:1-3

I wrote this for my home church's Advent Devotional, and thought I would share it.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn"-Isaiah 60:1-3

When I first read this verse I wasn't sure how to relate it to my life. But then I started thinking a bit more. The thing that I keep thinking about was that camp song that everyone has to sing; the one that goes "Rise and Shine and give God the Glory Glory!" It's also called "The Arky Arky Song." A bit of digging relvealed that it was written annoynmously and an unknown date and was based off of Isaiah 60:1. It has a ridiculously catchy tune, but it has some great points. Not only did it make Noah's Ark fun and wake up tired campers for years, it also has a really simple message. Rise. Shine. Give God the glory. Everything that we do is to give Him glory and be witnesses for Him through our actions. This means that our job is relativley simple. We wake up. We shine with the love of God. And we give Him glory.

These three verses remind me that call is to rise and shine. Darkness was over the land, over everything and everyone. But no more! There is now light! Hope and peace! Jesus Christ was born in a manger, lived and died a terrible, horrible death. But death couldn't hold Him down!! No, He rose again and is coming back someday! But in the meantime, we are called to tell people. Darkness covered the world, but God covers the world in light and glory. He uses us as vessels to shine His love, and to tell others about Him.

We are called to be lighthouses for God. Our light came into the world and is living in each of us. Just like a city on a hill can't be hidden, neither can the love of God in our lives. We shine His light through our lives and, while doing this, we help light the way for others to see God. When we allow God to shine through our lives, we are being a beacon in the darkness that is our world; shining out and lighting up the dark.

"Heavenly Father, as I go through my day, help me to be a lighthouse of your love, showing the world the wonders of your love. Help me to remember that your grace and mercy are things that I want to sing about. Help me to remember to rise, shine and give you the glory in all I do. Thank you for your grace and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.