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“When we obey the light we have, God shows up.”

A thought by Larry Osborne (2015-04-01) from his book, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture (Kindle Location 925). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

There is the story of Sam Young when he was President of Eastern Nazarene College and of a confused young man who came to see him and who asked Dr. Young an important question.  He asked, “How do I know what is God’s will for my life?”  Dr. Young then asked him, “Did you ever know?”  And the young man said, “Yes.”  And then Dr. Young asked, “Did you do it?”  And he said, “No.”  “When we obey the light we have, God shows up.”

Larry goes on to say, “And every time he does, our hope grows stronger. We begin to experience biblical hope— the deep-seated optimism and confidence that comes from knowing that God can be trusted even when we have no idea what he’s up to.”

He then says, “We don’t have to worry about what we don’t know. Because when we obey the light we have, God will not only show up, but he’ll also give us more light. It’s what I call the dimmer-switch principle: when we obey the light we have, God gives us more; when we ignore the light we have, he gives us less.”

Proverbs 4: 18 & 19 (MSG) says, “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.  But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.”

As Psalms 119: 105 (MSG) says, “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.” 

There it is, “When we obey the light we have God shows up.  And every time he does our hope grows stronger.”


So are you obeying or ignoring the light you have?

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