Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

Isaiah 60:1 (AMP)

We are living in a time when there are so many distractions, with things contending for our focus, our time, and our and resources. Our spiritual direction has a lot to do with our spiritual position. Life has a way of affecting our position spiritually. Many of us have gone through disappointments and setbacks, and it has caused us to settle into a comfort zone with no spiritual intensity to break out into new levels. Remember, this comfort zone is a danger zone for your spiritual life. It keeps you locked in complacency, and it’s one of the biggest robbers of spiritual potential and destiny.

1 Kings 19:9 (AMP) says, There he came to a cave and lodged in it; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah found this cave after being attacked. Even though it hid him from the attack, at the same time, it was robbing him of his spiritual progress and his destiny in God. The Lord will always send a word to bring you out of a pattern that seems ok, but is actually robbing you of your future in God. How you respond to His Word will determine what happens next.

Ephesians 5:14 (AMP) says, For this reason He says,“Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.” Have you fallen asleep spiritually? Are you more in tune with the natural than the supernatural? Have your spiritual desires fallen asleep? Is Sunday morning service enough to satisfy your spiritual hunger? What is robbing your spiritual hunger during the week? What has taken the place of the Presence of God in your life?

Hebrews 6:12 (AMP) says, In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. Notice, the writer is warning them to not grow disinterested, which led to being a sluggard. That word sluggard means to be lazy or inactive. This is one of the most subtle attacks on faith that robs the people of the promises of God. Disinterested with God… that’s insane! Where’s that fire? Where is that passion for Jesus? Remember, it was because of His passion for you that He died for you, that he saved you! This love, this passion, demands a response from us.

If you think Jesus is ok with a passionless relationship, let me bring your attention to Revelation 2:4-5 (AMP): But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]. So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. They left their first love, and it affected their spiritual condition. Jesus said this needed to be repented of; their influence for God was in danger of being taken away. Remember, either you are influencing or you are being influenced.

The enemy is after our light. If he can put out our light by getting us to focus on what we are going through, then mission accomplished; he stops this Scripture from coming to pass in our lives. Isaiah 60:1-3 (KJV) says, Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. When we arise, we become the answer that the world is looking for. Don’t let the enemy put out your light, especially in the times we are living in. Jesus needs us more than ever to be that light to bring many into His Kingdom. So ARISE, people of God, and the glory of the Lord will be your portion!!!