Be the Light

Be the Light

My dear friends, I haven’t posted for a while because my heart is so heavy over the violence and the toxicity that has been happening in the last month or so.  It almost felt disrespectful to speak in any context other than to pray.

One morning, as I sipped my pumpkin spice latte, I felt Jesus tugging at me and telling me to step away and bury myself into God’s word. He led me to 1 Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.”  Even though I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover many times, I found myself longing to read it again and again and again. It’s the one book I never tire of. Every time I read, I’m always left with feeling refreshed and amazed by His profound love. If we sit silently and really listen, He always gives us a whisper that is filled with love and wisdom.

Be still, and know I am God ~ Psalms 46:10

This past month, everywhere I went, I felt pulled into extreme toxicity. Community. Family. Everywhere. It made my heart heavy and extremely worn-out. I had so much anger growing up, but the toxicity and negativity were things I was used to being surrounded with. I learned and mastered toxicity, both dealing with it and creating my own.

People can be so heartless with words that pierce your heart and make your heart bleed. Sometimes they say things on purpose, other times they say things without understanding the profound pain it causes.  I didn’t for the longest time.  I felt I was entitled to be that person because of what happened to me.  I didn’t realize the pain my words inflicted on a person until it happened to me.  I was that toxic person before I surrendered to my Lord and Savior

So, that morning, while I was drinking my coffee, Jesus caught me when I needed Him the most.  Jesus pulled me out of the darkness into His Light and reminded me that light, love, and peace are the things He wants for everyone to experience.

You are the light of the world. – Matthew 5:14.

The Bible says occasionally we need to walk away when dealing with a toxic person or a situation that is not healthy. I’m finding myself doing exactly that more and more each day.  I’ve lost friends because of this and I’ve lost family members because of this. It’s essential to me to have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior and in order to have that, I need to obey Jesus.  He is first before anything else. There are so many instances in the Bible that say we need to leave relationships with wicked or evil people, to be separated from them, to shun, outcast and purge them from our midst:

• 1 Corinthians 15:33
• Proverbs 13:20
• Psalm 1:1
• Proverbs 6:27
• 1 Corinthians 5:11
• 1 Corinthians 10:13

Have you found yourself being pulled into toxicity? Negativity? Full of hatred? If you continue to surround yourself with toxicity, your soul becomes so heavy and miserable.

I didn’t want to be that kind of person, nor did I like who I was. I didn’t want to surround myself with toxicity. Yet sometimes it can be so hard to avoid negativity, especially in today’s busy world. We are so busy making things happen, focusing on earning more money, concentrating on technology, and always being on the go, that we forget who we should look at in the first place: Him. The Father of all.  God.

We forget that kindness, compassion, love, and peace all start with Him. He is the foundation. The more we bury ourselves in God’s words, His wisdom, His grace, the easier it becomes to distance ourselves from toxicity. The more we distance ourselves from toxicity, the easier it becomes to find our souls at peace.

Satan wants us to be a part of toxicity.  It’s what he is really good at. He wants us to be the opposite of Jesus.  If we don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, we are bound to follow Satan rather than Jesus.  I am reminded every day how to stand strong through the devil’s attacks and to be the light.

Be the Light. Be like Jesus.

To be the light means we love as Jesus loves, show compassion and mercy as Jesus does.  To be the light of Jesus means we light the way for others by sharing the truth of the Gospel with as many people as possible. The world needs more of Jesus. The world needs more love, peace, compassion, and kindness — something we need to be reminded of.

“Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” — Ephesians 6:10.

Ephesians 6:10 means to strengthen yourselves in the Lord.  We must realize that our strength is no match for the devil.  Satan knows that God is our power-base. Therefore, Satan’s goal is to get between our souls and God. He will try and separate our hearts from God’s.

My dear friend, Remember God’s love for you. Whenever you face a test, remember the words of Jesus: “My Father is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” — John 10:29.

We will never win the spiritual battle on our own strength.  Rely on Him to give us the strength.

“I can do all this through Him who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:13

Resist the devil.  Be the light.