Let Your Light Shine Part 2

 2 Corinthians 5:17- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

The second thing that I wanted to touch on in the “Let Your Light Shine” series, is new beginnings. I am covering not just the typical new beginnings, but also being able and willing to take the next step in your journey with God as well! I know for a lot of you, you may be switching jobs, getting into a relationship, starting school, moving, going to college to pursue a new degree, whatever the case may be we’ve all gone through a new beginning in our lives.

One of the biggest new beginnings that I have had in my life was going into high school, there’s something different about high school, scarier almost, than going into middle school. I think part of it is the stereotype that high school gives. Everyone “clicks” into their friendships, classes, careers, and the whole social aspect in high school. I was so excited for high school because I thought that it finally meant that I was important and that my life was finally going to get started. But I was already important and my life had been started for a long time! We all tend to think like this sometimes, if we can just get that one person to like us, or if we can just get that one job that we really really want. We think that these things will give us life and that we will become important because of them. No! We are already important and playing a big role in the kingdom of God. Our lives have long since started as well! I don’t want you to think that one thing defines your life because it doesn’t. The thing that should define our life and be the center of it is Jesus, even if we do want that really cool job. 

For some people new beginnings are really exciting, and for some they are really sad. My transition into high school was a really exciting new beginning for me. Here’s the sad new beginning, I just found out last night that we are moving, it’s not far away at all in fact it’s just a couple of minutes away but I was really sad about it. This was the place where I transitioned into middle and high school in, there have been so many fun parties and gatherings here. This house is where I feel like most of my growing up moments have been in. So this is a bit of a sad transition for me, not that it’s not exciting too it’s just a lot of memories! It’s funny because for my sister, I would say this is her happy new beginning because she can’t sleep at night planning out her room and decorations and everything, while I can’t sleep at night because I can only think of the few nights that I have left in this place. 

So what does the Bible say about new beginnings? The first thing I thought about when trying to find a biblical example of a new beginning in the Bible is,  Matthew. I know you may be thinking, what about Mary that was a crazy and unexpected new beginning for her?! Or what about when Jesus arose from the grave wasn’t that a really big new beginning?! You're not wrong! But I wanted to touch on something that doesn’t get as much light. In the Bible Matthew wasn’t the most loved person before Jesus, he was a tax collector and people didn’t like them very much. He gave such a good example of a new beginning because he left everything to go follow Jesus, he embraced his new beginning no matter how scary it was. He went from a job that he got a lot of hate from doing, to following Jesus which also got a lot of hate. He was a disciple of Jesus and he recorded his life! I think it’s really amazing to see the faith that Matthew had in Jesus that he would leave everything behind to follow him and to love him when others didn’t. He gives such a good example about embracing our new beginnings. He knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but he didn’t look at leaving everything behind as a sad thing, but as a joyful thing for the Lord! This is what the Lord calls us to do, it may not be that drastic of a change but we are told to listen to Him and not to turn away when we get scared! 

We think that we have to do big things to be considered a big role in the Kingdom of God, but that is not the case. If one person comes to Christ because of you, you’ve done your job. If a hundred people come to Christ because of you, you’ve also done your job. It’s not about the number, it’s about listening and being obedient in His calling for you. We think so many times that the speaker on stage is so much better than us because they are preaching to hundreds of people, and we’re only thinking of what we could say in our bathroom mirror while we’re brushing our teeth. But I want to ask you a question, why do you set your limits so low? It’s not that God doesn’t have a big plan for your life, I can promise you that. His plans are so much greater than ours! It’s because you aren’t listening to what He is calling you to do. I know for some of you this is hard to hear because you are thinking about the times when He has told you to do something and you haven’t listened. I encourage you to welcome the spirit and the voice of the Lord in your day-to-day life. 

Don’t just expect big things to come out of the Heavens and scream at you all of the time. For me, when I get an idea about something to write, I just go write. I put my thoughts and opinions in my writing, but it’s not mine, it belongs to Jesus because He is the one who is telling me what to say. It’s not always going to be easy, God is going to call you to share things that you don’t want to share. The biggest lie that the enemy tries to plant in our minds when God calls us to do something, is that our words aren’t good enough. He’s right, our words aren’t good enough, but God’s are. If you listen to what He has called you to do, He will speak through you what you’re supposed to say, you don’t have to worry about that! One of the most amazing things that I have experienced is when I feel on the edge about something I’ve been thinking about saying, God has that person say something that I wrote. I know that sounds crazy but it is so true, and when I hear that I know that He is telling me to listen to Him and to speak His words. We all can be as courageous as Matthew was in our new beginnings there’s no doubt about that. The question is, are you willing to listen to what God has to say and are you willing to be His vessel?

There are so many people who are spreading the word of God and they are living their lives out for Jesus, who don’t live off of minimum wage, or they don’t get recognized from the public. The reason why I bring this up is because I feel like these standards which our world puts on jobs and money and success determine what someone feels. It determines if a person thinks that they are good enough or not good enough. I don’t think that the standards in this world should determine how someone feels about themselves. The only person who is qualified to tell you your worth is Jesus. So if you are reading this and you feel like the world determines your worth, I want you to find your worth in who Jesus says you are.

It is so easy to see what we do as followers of Christ as unimportant because the world doesn’t see it as important. But you are chosen by God to fight this fight, we all are. So I encourage you to build yourself up on the word, it says so many times that we need to share His word with people. This is the most important job because in the end, it’s the only job that matters. I’m not saying that you should go quit your jobs, please don’t do that because you are needed where Christ has placed you. But I do hope that you will see the value in using where God has planted your seeds to plant seeds for the kingdom of God. This is so important. 

In writing this, my hope for you is that you are able to receive peace. You are able to see that you are worthy and you are placed in the perfect place that God has prepared and planned in your life. You are exactly where you need to be, and you don’t need to worry about the things that this world will judge you on. All you need to build up the kingdom of God. You cannot let the standards of this world determine how bright you can shine your light. If you don’t make an effort to see this happening in your life, it will take over without you even noticing! So take hold of your light and feed it with the word of Jesus, not the words of this world!