While we continue to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe we have a great opportunity to represent Jesus well as we respond to God’s calling with a hearty, “Here Am I”!  Over the next 15 days I will continue sharing the devotions from my “Here Am I” book to help each of us pray about our response to God as He calls us to Himself.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you see and respond to God’s calling as you see Him working in your “everyday” life.

Here is day seventeen with an important reminder that you, and those around you, have been called by God into His glorious light.

Called Into Light

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.“
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

Have you ever used darkness to get by with things that you should not have done?  Why?  How does light influence your choices?  Are there things that you allow to exist in the shadows of your life that you would rather not be brought to light?  What are they?  What would God want you to do with them?  Will you?  How does living in the light make you feel?  Why?  Should being called into the light change the way the people around you see you?  The way they see God?  In what ways?

Whether you prefer living in the spotlight or are more comfortable in the background of life, God calls you to step out of the darkness of this world and into His glorious light.  This calling isn’t about you being more visible, but about Him being more visible through you as you proclaim His praises each day.  As we journey further into God’s light, it is not just the deeds of darkness we leave behind — we also find the things we’ve kept in the shadows are exposed for what they are.  Responding to God’s call to walk in His light isn’t about guilt or shame over what is exposed, rather it is about finding freedom to live in that light in a way that glorifies God.

As you pray about being called into the light, ask God to help you see any areas of darkness that keep you from embracing His light fully.  Pray that you would allow Him to transform your mind so that even the hints of darkness would have no appeal to you.  Pray that you would constantly praise God as you recall both what He has called you out of and what He has called you into.  Pray for God’s help in not only walking in His light, but in helping others to see His light.

In prayer,

Tom