HAVE PLUCK

by Tammy Phillips
May 28, 2021

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1 NKJV

In America we are blessed.  Most of us can turn on light by flipping a switch. We rise and shine our lights each morning in our homes.  It is one of the very first things we do to chase away the darkness.  We take the light for granted.   When the power goes out and we must bring out the candles, we realize how good light really is.  Can you imagine how dark, darkness really was 2000 years ago?  Can you imagine how dark things were before electricity? We have a small bathroom that has no windows.  I went into the darkness of that room, closed the door, and did not turn on the light.  It was black.  It was nothingness. I could not see the ground below, nor the sky above.  I could not see my spouse to the right or my child to the left.  It was dark.  I could not wait to turn the light on.

Darkness is the absence of light.   We go through trials in life when it is the darkest dark and the cloud of doom hangs over us.  However, when the Lord and the Light come on the scene, He chases away every atom of darkness.  “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1Jo 1:5 KJV). Light can exist in darkness.  It overtakes darkness, but darkness cannot exist in light. Hallelujah.  His presence chases away the darkness!

When the Light comes and the Light has come, He brings great joy and peace. All we have to do is invite the Light into our lives and He will come faster than we can turn on a light switch.   Think about the last breakthrough you had.  Think about the last time the Lord appeared on the scene, overcame your dark situation, and illuminated you with His salvation. The best thing about the Lord is He will light our path all the way through, if we will allow Him. Didn’t you want to  tell everybody that you had made it through the darkness and could see the light of day?

Isaiah encourages us to do the same in Isaiah 60:1, can you hear him shouting about the coming of the Messiah?

ARISE!
Up!
Get up!
Stand up!
Rise up out of the darkness!

SHINE!
Give light!
Be light!
Be bright!
Be luminous!
Be on fire!
Give the light away that was so freely given to you.

FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME! 
AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS RISEN UPON YOU!

He has flooded you with Himself and His light, His presence, His glory is all over you.   The prophet says, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people…” (Isa 60:2 KJV). Darkness covers whole earth.   Gross darkness covers the people.  “Gross darkness” is the Hebrew word, ʿărāp̄el, meaning dark, thick, gloomy clouds. In reality and spiritually it can be dark and cloudy for days.  What do we yearn for in those times? The Sunshine from on high.

BUT THE LORD …

He is always the Savior of the day!  As Christians, when it is darkest, we have this confidence, that the Lord has come and He will arise, iridate, scatter His rays, shoot forth His beams of light and life upon us, and His glory shall be seen upon us. (Isaiah 60:2 KJV).  How cool is it that God can be seen in, on us and all over us?  

Arise and shine!   You cannot hide the light.  If you had invented the light bulb, would you have wanted to keep it just for yourself?  Wouldn’t you have been so excited to share it with the world?  Wouldn’t you want others to be blessed from what you had found out?  If Jesus is truly your Savior and the Light of your life, why not tell everyone about Him?  One of my favorite deliverers of the word of God boldly stated it like this:

“Have pluck; that is a plain English word, but I do not know how to put my meaning better. Have pluck enough to come out and be a Christian; do not for ever be like a rat behind the wainscotting, but come out, and acknowledge yourself on Jesus Christ’s side, and proclaim the everlasting gospel wherever you have the opportunity.” – C. H. Spurgeon, January 1, 1882,

Pluck is an old English word meaning spirited and determined courage.  So…

I enCOURAGE you to have pluck!  Arise and shine!  Your light has come!  If you need more words of  encouragement, we also have this promise from the mouth of our Savior,  “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NKJV). If you have the light of life, rise and shine!  The rest of the world needs your light!   If you don’t, invite Jesus in.  He will light you up!  You will never be the same.  I promise you, there is an eternal place of darkness and there is an eternal place of light.  Don’t live your life now or forever in the dark.  Jesus is the Only Way and the Light.  If you are not lit up, don’t feel like rising nor shining, you may have your back turned to the Light.  It is time to turn to Him!