Arise & Shine
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises on you.”
Isaiah 60:1
It’s time. Whatever position you have been in, it’s time to ARISE. It’s time to stand up!
It’s an action. It’s a change of position.
We don’t have time to be passive or to let life pass us by. We can’t afford to let God’s call on our lives, the gifts and assignments for us to lay dormant any longer.
We must change our position – “Arise” this is a call, a request, a command.
It’s time to recognise our time and our calling to arise and shine!
Remember in school when bullies try to intimidate you? What advise would your parents give? “Stand up for yourself! Don’t let them push you, stand up for yourself.”
There is something about standing up that changes your position, your attitude and your influence.
HANNAH
Remember Hannah in the Bible who so much wanted a child? Hannah went through heartache, being ridiculed, mocked and intimidated by Peninah, the other wife of Elkanah. It went on year after year, after year, after year. Until the time came when after it happened all over again the ridicule and torment from Hannah’s rival that Hannah had, had enough and she changed her position. When Hannah was sat at the table she, ‘stood up’ went into the temple to pour out her heart to the Lord, seek His face and get an answer. Hannah received her answer.
Like Hannah, whatever is happening in our lives that is hard and lasting a long time, we need to come to the point of ‘enough is enough,’ to stand up and go into the Presence of God, to seek His face, pour our hearts out to Him and get our answer, our word from God. The word the Lord gives you in that time you hold on to it, trust and believe it. That is God’s word for you that you treasure, nurture and run with. Then, Hannah shone with joy and peace with the promise of God’s word.
RUTH
Ruth is a character I love in the Bible, she shows such character that we can learn a lot from. Ruth’s ‘Arise, shine’ time was a journey, a life time.
Ruth arose, went with Naomi showing to her love and loyalty. Ruth in diligence got up each day and went out to work in the field. God gave her favour. Ruth was faithful and diligent every day and obedient to Naomi. Through this God divinely led Ruth to her Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz. Her life journey of arising and shining, Ruth is known as a woman of noble character – Ruth’s life shining with Kingdom qualities seen and observed by people around her.
These qualities – Loyalty, diligence, faithfulness and obedience, are what we need when we stand up to do what God asks and calls us to do.
This journey of arising and shining is where we stick to what God has called us to and we don’t jump out when it gets hard and difficult. God will lead you to your breakthrough, He will cause the fruit to come, He will open the door, make a way for what He has for you. This will affect your future and you will do something significant for God’s Kingdom.
ESTHER
Esther, had to stand up for her people, go to the King and save them from disaster.
Esther was an orphan, a beautiful girl and she had a wise uncle, Mordecai, who cared for her. The beauty treatment program that Esther went through lasting twelve months before she would go to the King was long and thorough. She gained favour with Hegai who helped her and Esther also won favour with everyone who saw her. Then we read how she won the favour and approval from the King and he chose Esther to be his queen.
Now that Esther is chosen to be queen, she now has access to the King, the high power. Esther was in a position and place where she could go to the King.
There are times when we need to stand up for God’s Kingdom and it is a risk, it isn’t easy, it is scary. Esther understood the need and she realised the risk, so she prayed and fasted asking others to join with her.
I believe when Esther prayed and fasted, God gave her the strategy and wisdom how to deal with this situation, that was risking her life, then she stood up and approached the King.
Esther was born and set up for this moment – to save God’s people from being destroyed.
We are born and set up for this time to stand up and be a voice where we are and to show people around us the way of salvation.
It’s through prayer and fasting that God reveals to us the strategic plans how to reach out to people around us for Jesus.
Isaiah 60 says, ‘Arise, shine for your light has come and THE GLORY OF THE LORD RISES ON YOU.’
What is God’s glory that is on us?
God’s glory is His holiness, His greatness, His beauty, His favour and His power!
So, God’s beauty, holiness, favour, power and greatness rises on us and is on us!
So that, we can arise, we can stand up, we can shine, we can be a voice where we are in our families, in our work place, in our cities, towns and communities – because His glory is on us, bringing open doors, extraordinary favour and opportunities that we need to take hold of with both hands.
So we arise, we shine, for our light has come and His glory rises on us.
Hope in Christ!
Psalm 31:24
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
The word ‘hope’ came to me, and I thought how important it is for us to have real hope in our lives. Hope is something we need no matter where we are and what we do in life.
Hope is an anchor. Hope shows us that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hope says, tomorrow will be a better day.
Be strong! You and I decide about this. When our hope is in the Lord, He does not disappoint. God is hope! He is our source of hope.
Hope is an expectation that what God has said He will do.
Hope keeps us in the place where God has called us to be.
Hope keeps us focused on what is most important.
When our hope is in the Lord we will say, ‘yes’ to what He asks of us.
Hope, that we will see the fruit of our work, answer to our prayers, open doors and He will make a way for us. This is the real hope we have in Christ!
When we look in our own lives, lets ask ourselves, where do we need to be strong? Where do we need to raise our hope more in the Lord? God will show us as we spend time with Him and seek His face.
There is a hope and a future with God who has many great plans for us. This is the wonderful and real hope we have in Christ!
God is working in us
Just think for a moment.
GOD is on your side. God is your help and He is with you. If we really want to believe and realise these truths, then we can leave the lies that we often carry with us, and because of it in our hearts wefeel heaviness and worry.
It’s so easy to over exaggerate how it is for others and to lessen how God’s promises are wonderful! In life we will have situations when people will be by our sides, and when they will be far from us, and when there will be joy and sadness.
Have we allowed someone to offend or hurt us in a way that we have forgotten God, who is for us?
Today where is our focus?
Focus on God who is on our side, He fights for us, and He is working in us. When we look to God, who is for us, we will find new grace in life.
When we pray for needs, look to God who is powerful and mighty in everything! He has the solution, we need to ask God to show us and walk together with Him rejoice.
The Daughters of the King conference will be in April, just three months to go! We need to put our focus on God and let Him work in us, so He can do something new, great and victorious through us. Let God lead us into what He has in store. It will be new, fresh and powerful!
God is working in us! Think how great is the truth in this verse…
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13
Overflowing Hope
Dear sisters,
I think we can say we’re at the beginning of the year, we’re still in January, just about. At the beginning of a year our hopes and expectations are high as we hope our dreams and visions will be fulfilled and start to become a reality.
God is the author of hope, and the more we walk with Him, the more this hope overflows in our lives.
I love this verse in Romans 15:13 where it says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
We ask God who is hope fills us with joy and peace as we trust him, then hope overflows with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.
Many times though we hold back on our hopes. What holds us back? Often it is because of disappoint from our pasts and the fear of failure.
So what should we do when we have experienced disappoints and have the fear failure?
Put our trust in God, tell Him about what it is we fear and lay it all down before him and tell Him our disappointments. God hears us, loves and cares about us, He is the one who wants us to keep our hope alive and gives us real hope that is ‘God-hope’. God is the author of hope, we can trust Him. When we do His joy and peace fills our hearts and by the power of the Holy Spirit His overflowing hope floods in!
The word of God comes more real to us when we pray it personally like this:
“May the God of hope fill ME with all joy and peace as I trust in him, so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 15:13.
What are you hoping for this year 2017? The God-given dreams and visions that fill us with hope will happen, it’s a matter of time. God is trustworthy and He is always faithful.