Let Your Light Shine
Graduation season is here. It is so inspiring to hear about the dreams, desires and plans of so many young people as they venture off into the “real world.” My encouragement to these graduates is always the same, “Let your light shine!” This year a student responded with, “I love that! But how?” What a great question! How do any of us let our light shine?
This reminded me of an obscure, and rather strange story from Judges chapter 7. Gideon and his army of 300 take on the hoards (135,000) of Midian. What is interesting is that as weapons, Gideon handed each of his men a vessel or a pot. One of the noticeable things about this pot is that it was empty. It had nothing inside. Then Gideon handed each man a torch to be placed inside the pot. They held that in one hand, and in the other hand they held a trumpet (shofar). How strange! A pot. A torch. A trumpet. That is what you take into battle?
Yet, this is a perfect picture of our battlefield equipment. We are nothing more than a clay pot. We are a simple vessel of dirt. Our bodies are constructed from dust and, just like the pots Gideon handed his men, our pots are empty. We really have nothing to offer on our own. But when we meet Jesus, we are handed a torch, a fire that is placed on the inside. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul tells us that we are earthen vessels that hold a treasure on the inside.
God constructed us this way so that people will notice that the power inside of us comes from God, not ourselves. Think about this. We have been chosen to house the fiery presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Here is where the story of Gideon gets interesting. Judges 7:19-21 tells us that Gideon sent his men to battle with the vessel, the torch and the trumpet. When he gave the command, Gideon’s men played their trumpets and broke their vessels to allow the light to shine through. In other words, the light couldn’t get out until the pot was cracked or broken!
As the jars were smashed, exposing the light of the torches, and the trumpets were frantically blown on every side of the camp, confusion reigned amongst the Midianite forces, and God brought victory over Midian! (Truly worth the read in Judges 7)
What does this mean for us today? As these graduates venture off, they will experience their own Midianite battles. Midian means strife. Just like many of us already know, life is full of trouble, trials and strife. The way we overcome and “shine our lights” is through clay jars, torches and trumpets. Let me explain. Gideon chapter 7 has its New Testament fulfilment in 2 Corinthians chapter 4:5-10, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
God has made His light shine in our hearts. It is the light of the presence of the Lord Jesus within our lives. But God has placed this “all-surpassing power” in jars of clay—us! So how does this light shine forth? God’s light and power is seen in us as cracks appear in the outer jar. Just as Gideon and his army broke their jars to expose the light, our lights will shine brightest in our brokenness and weakness. This exposes the frailty of our normal strength and lets God's strength shine through. It is when we are, “hard pressed, perplexed and persecuted,” that we become more dependent on God; and the more we let God break us, the brighter His light shines through us.
What does this teach us? Brokenness is the path to shining our light! The more broken we are, the more light will shine through. God purposely broke down the army of Gideon to only 300 men so that His strength and power would be revealed, and He would get the credit.
The last ingredient for true victory over Midian after the jars had been smashed, and the light of the torches had been exposed, was when the trumpet sounded. Then, the Lord brought victory over the Midianite enemy.
“Blow the trumpet!” doesn’t sound as good as "shine your light." But it’s important to blow the trumpet of God, not your own trumpet. A lot of people blow their own trumpet, and while they like the sound it gives, it is definitely way off key! The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.” The testimony and trumpet call that we sound is about Him, not us.
Whatever you may be facing today, let God break you and strip you of your false sense of security. It is only when we let go of our perceived strengths and abilities, and rely on His light to shine through us, that HE will deliver us from Midian. Then we can blow the trumpet of God, and He will get all the credit.
Let your light shine!
This reminded me of an obscure, and rather strange story from Judges chapter 7. Gideon and his army of 300 take on the hoards (135,000) of Midian. What is interesting is that as weapons, Gideon handed each of his men a vessel or a pot. One of the noticeable things about this pot is that it was empty. It had nothing inside. Then Gideon handed each man a torch to be placed inside the pot. They held that in one hand, and in the other hand they held a trumpet (shofar). How strange! A pot. A torch. A trumpet. That is what you take into battle?
Yet, this is a perfect picture of our battlefield equipment. We are nothing more than a clay pot. We are a simple vessel of dirt. Our bodies are constructed from dust and, just like the pots Gideon handed his men, our pots are empty. We really have nothing to offer on our own. But when we meet Jesus, we are handed a torch, a fire that is placed on the inside. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul tells us that we are earthen vessels that hold a treasure on the inside.
God constructed us this way so that people will notice that the power inside of us comes from God, not ourselves. Think about this. We have been chosen to house the fiery presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Here is where the story of Gideon gets interesting. Judges 7:19-21 tells us that Gideon sent his men to battle with the vessel, the torch and the trumpet. When he gave the command, Gideon’s men played their trumpets and broke their vessels to allow the light to shine through. In other words, the light couldn’t get out until the pot was cracked or broken!
As the jars were smashed, exposing the light of the torches, and the trumpets were frantically blown on every side of the camp, confusion reigned amongst the Midianite forces, and God brought victory over Midian! (Truly worth the read in Judges 7)
What does this mean for us today? As these graduates venture off, they will experience their own Midianite battles. Midian means strife. Just like many of us already know, life is full of trouble, trials and strife. The way we overcome and “shine our lights” is through clay jars, torches and trumpets. Let me explain. Gideon chapter 7 has its New Testament fulfilment in 2 Corinthians chapter 4:5-10, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
God has made His light shine in our hearts. It is the light of the presence of the Lord Jesus within our lives. But God has placed this “all-surpassing power” in jars of clay—us! So how does this light shine forth? God’s light and power is seen in us as cracks appear in the outer jar. Just as Gideon and his army broke their jars to expose the light, our lights will shine brightest in our brokenness and weakness. This exposes the frailty of our normal strength and lets God's strength shine through. It is when we are, “hard pressed, perplexed and persecuted,” that we become more dependent on God; and the more we let God break us, the brighter His light shines through us.
What does this teach us? Brokenness is the path to shining our light! The more broken we are, the more light will shine through. God purposely broke down the army of Gideon to only 300 men so that His strength and power would be revealed, and He would get the credit.
The last ingredient for true victory over Midian after the jars had been smashed, and the light of the torches had been exposed, was when the trumpet sounded. Then, the Lord brought victory over the Midianite enemy.
“Blow the trumpet!” doesn’t sound as good as "shine your light." But it’s important to blow the trumpet of God, not your own trumpet. A lot of people blow their own trumpet, and while they like the sound it gives, it is definitely way off key! The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.” The testimony and trumpet call that we sound is about Him, not us.
Whatever you may be facing today, let God break you and strip you of your false sense of security. It is only when we let go of our perceived strengths and abilities, and rely on His light to shine through us, that HE will deliver us from Midian. Then we can blow the trumpet of God, and He will get all the credit.
Let your light shine!
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