Fleas and Thank-You

Good morning all! Any opportunities to shine for Jesus this week? If so, comment below so we can encourage each other to keep on shining!

This past Sunday, Pastor Mona encouraged us that our purpose is to to shine with light of Christ in us for the world to see in EVERY situation. She said that everything we encounter in a day: the good, the bad, and the horrible, is an opportunity to to shine our lights and do good works so that our Father in Heaven will be glorified. Let's stop seeing the messes of life as negative, but as an opportunity to shine!

The big question is: how do we shine when life is not so shiny? I don't know about you, but, when I'm sick or stressed or in pain, the thought of exemplifying the love of Christ to those around me is not exactly my initial reaction. Yet, according to what we heard on Sunday, that exactly what God has called us to do. I can't help but consider the story of Corrie Ten Boom, a Believer who survived ten months in the Ravensbruck concentration camp during WW2. At one point during the ten-month period, Corrie and her sister, Betsy, were moved into a new barracks, already filled to the brim, not just with other women, but also...fleas! She recounts her initial reaction of horror and discouragement, only to look over and find that her sister was giving thanks to God for fleas, for no other reason except that she knew God had said to give thanks in all circumstances, and Betsy was determined to do just that. She understood that she was a child of God on assignment and part of a Kingdom that could not be shaken, even in what was probably the closest thing to Hell on Earth. Corrie goes on to recount that the two sisters were able to hold a daily Bible study for the other women in the barracks without fear of being caught and punished by the guards, who would never come anywhere near that particular building - you guessed it - because of the fleas! Countless women were given new life in Jesus in a dirty dorm in Ravensbruck simply because two women chose to make it, not about their situation,  but about their God and the assignment He had given them.

So what situation are you going through right now? If God could use a situation like Corrie and Betsy's, how much more can He not also use you right where you are? It's not about mustering up enough faith or trying really hard. I'm no SuperMan and neither are you. That's not what this is about; rather, this is about allowing the life of Christ to shine through you. Whatever you're going through today, remember who you are. You are a child of God on assignment for a Kingdom that will still be around when this world and all it's troubles have past. You have a light that no situation or power of darkness can steal; the only one who could cover up that light is you. Let it shine today; who knows what God will do with your little light.