Time to Shine with Expectancy

Kim CrabillBy Kim Crabill5 Minutes

I have to confess as a counselor I’ve dealt with a lot of sadness. I never truly understood the depth that dark times can take until God gave me this visual. It was my intention to go beyond simply talking about sadness to show or demonstrate it in such a way that people could truly understand it.

Watch Time to Shine with Kim Crabill

So, at a speaking event, I asked that all the lights be turned off. Immediately the darkness enveloped us as I expected. There was no light in which to move around safely. That too, I expected. But God revealed something else that I didn’t expect. I could’ve held up 1,000 mirrors, but because of the darkness no image could’ve been seen. Not one person could see themselves. We were lost in that darkness.

Hello friends and welcome back to Strengthen Your Walk. I’m Kim Crabill and I’m delighted to bring a new series to you, Time to Shine.

The truth is that during sad, disappointing, and depressing times we can lose sight of ourselves and forget the incredible fearfully created, called-with-a-purpose individual God birthed us to be. But here’s the great news. During that same visual and in that same darkness I asked just one person to strike just one match and guess what happened? All eyes immediately shifted toward that light and you could hear hope.

Yes, you could hear hope. You began to hear the muffled sounds of talk and the soft laughter, the sighs of relief. All from one little spark in the dark.

Somewhere recently I read if everything around you seems to look dark then look again. You may be the light.

The truth is we all have experienced darkness. But because of God’s amazing grace, as believers, we no longer have to reside in that hopeless place.

Now, we are called to be that one light, to shine hope to those all around us. If you don’t believe me, read Philippians 2:15 where we are urged to shine like the stars in the sky. Who can resist such an opportunity? I know I don’t want to and I suspect you’re shaking your head in agreement, as well.

So, I propose that in this series we devote ourselves to finding our very own special way to shine. Each day I’d like to give you a passage and then we can personalize it. And then let’s pray. Let’s ask God to show us how we can be the shining agent just for Him.

By doing this, we’ll see that our lives are not run by coincidence, but they are very God-directed. We’ll be encouraged to see how active and personal God is in our very own lives. And we’ll become more focused, I think, on daily opportunities. And we’ll know that satisfaction of living out our daily purpose and completing the work that God has called us to do.

What do you think? Are you ready to shine?

Our passage today is a personal invitation to shine. Philippians 2:15: “Shine, shine like the stars in the sky.” I invite you to take a few minutes and personalize that. Include your name in that invitation because you have been called to be a light of Jesus today.

He wants to shine through you just as you are and right where you are. Isn’t it amazing that God wants us to be that one spark in someone’s darkness, bringing the light of His great hope into their life? You’re called, my friend, to shine. Now let’s go out and get our shine on. And let that strengthen your walk today.

Watch Now!