Arise, shine
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.”Isaiah 60:1
Reflection
Isaiah addresses Jerusalem, a city that had been through exile and ruin, with a sequence of imperative verbs: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." For a city lying in the dust, weary and diminished, the command is to arise. And the reason is not that it has gathered strength, but that the light has come. The word God uses is "is come". Not "will come" nor "maybe someday", but "is come".
Notice what comes first: the light has come, then comes the command. God does not ask the city to shine by its own effort. The light comes from outside, from the Lord, and the glory "is risen upon thee", like the sun that rises over a landscape. We do not produce this light; we receive it and reflect it. Many weary people try to shine on their own, and exhaust themselves. The biblical way is different: look to the source, let it illuminate, and then arise and reflect.
Christians read this verse in the light of Jesus, who said "I am the light of the world". He is the light that has come, the glory of the Lord risen upon humanity. For whoever is fallen, discouraged, with the feeling that the best has passed, the message is this: the light has come. Do not wait to feel strong in order to arise. Arise because the light has risen. Arising is the response of faith to something God has already done, and not a prerequisite for receiving.
Do today, literally, what the verse asks. If you are sitting in discouragement, stand up: get on your feet, open the window, let the light in. Say aloud: "The light has come." Then take a step you have been putting off: a conversation, a decision, a new beginning. Do not do it by willpower, but because the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Whoever arises in God's light begins to reflect that light, and others around you may be illuminated.
Prayer
Lord, thank You that Your light has come and Your glory rises upon me. Lift me from discouragement and from the dust. Help me receive Your light and reflect it wherever I go. Give me courage to take today the step I have been postponing. You are the light of the world, and in You I arise. Amen.
Put it into practice
Stand up literally, open the window and say aloud: "The light has come." Then take today a step you have been putting off, instead of waiting to feel strong.
To reflect on
What have you been postponing until you "feel strong", and what changes when you remember that the light has come?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).