From Night to Radiant Day

November 30

As much as we delight in the stories of God’s working among His ancient people the Israelites and as much as we are awed by the commitment of the Apostles to take the gospel of Christ to the known world of their day, yet we are most blessed when we contemplate the Lord’s touch upon our own lives. Having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the richest, most fulfilling aspect of being alive.

We are awed by His faithfulness. We are humbled by His mercy and grace. We know first-hand the veracity of the Word that tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever,” Hebrews 13:8, for we have experienced His steadfast presence in our own lives.

We know our frame. We know we can be trying—even to other people, let alone to the One who came to earth as the Perfect Man whose sinless life sets us free from the penalty of sin that we incurred to ourselves. We know He has the power to banish us from His presence eternally; we know our sin would justify His abandonment of us to our own wayward proclivity, but He elects to hold fast to us, to be true to His promise, “I will never fail you nor forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6.

So we bow before Him, we surrender our today and our tomorrows to Him. We commit ourselves to serving Jesus all our days and to sharing our knowledge of Him with others. It is our goal to be part of His ‘team.’ Our desire is to go where He leads and speak His truth to all nations and tribes, even as He has admonished that we do, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15.

Why would we sacrifice ‘self’ in order to promote His Kingdom? Because we can proclaim as did the Psalmist in 139:14, “I will praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful and I know this very well.” We cannot deny His goodness to us; we cannot dismiss His ever-present watch care over us, so everything within us yearns to serve Him. All our being longs to share His glory with those who know Him not so He may illumine the darkness, so He may transform night to radiant day.