Living with Wonder and Belief

We live in a time where many voices are beckoning for our attention and added to that we all live very busy lives with our calendars packed. Sometimes, all we seem to be doing is running from one task to another with no time to reflect and devoid of the life giving presence and light of God. Our life can become dank, musty and dark. We go through the motions and it is very easy to lose sight of our purpose and vision. We can become discouraged and wonder where our life is going.
Luke 11:33-36 (The Message)
^33-36 “No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don’t get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.”

How can we live in wonder and belief and avoid being stale, musty and murky? How can we keep our vision expanding and move ahead with hope and confidence? We can do this by regularly reflecting on God’s word and allowing God’s word to illumine our hearts and minds. When we do this, we light up our whole lives for glorious living. When we hear God’s voice through His word, we become more focused and clear. The murkiness and confusion will fade and we will begin to grasp the vision that God has for our lives! Not only that, we will have the enthusiasm, energy and zest for all that we do to bring Him glory! That is why Paul writes the following:
Ephesians 1:17-19 (The Message)
^17-19 I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

The culture and times we live in is progressively getting darker and murky. We can get disillusioned wondering what the point of it all is and that we are just a small light in the darkness. I rejoice in the fact that however small our light is, darkness cannot overcome it. Light always shines and light is triumphant! Jesus is the living light of the world and He is the source of all creation and our light to sustain us for glorious living! So, we cannot give in or give up thinking that our individual lives don’t matter in this dark world. We need to ensure that our lives shine bright to make a difference and in turn point others to the Light of the world and this glorious life!
John 1:4-5
⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Light gives us confidence to step out into the dark world as light guides our path. Light reveals the pitfalls ahead of us so that we don’t stumble on our way. Light lights up, stands out and it attracts and beckons. We just need to keep on reflecting the light of the world, Jesus back to the world. As John Piper says, “The light of Christ is the brightness of God shining on the retina of the human soul“. If we follow Jesus, our lives will not be murky and musty anymore and we will not walk in darkness!
John 8:12
¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 12:46
⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

When we are refreshed through God’s word, we end up reflecting Jesus the light of the world to others. Our lives are like lamps burning bright full of wonder and belief lighting up our own world first and then lighting the way for others to Christ! That’s very attractive and will greatly have impact and influence on the people around us! How is your inner soul doing? Are you hearing God’s voice loud and clear above all the other voices that call for your attention? Is your vision clear and focused and your life lived in wonder and belief? Are you refreshed with the living water of God? Let’s make a commitment to read His word, hear His voice and live out His word to glow with light and shine brightly for His glory!
Proverbs 4:18 (The Message)
¹⁸ The ways of right-living people glow with light;
the longer they live, the brighter they shine.