Your time to shine
Rev Dwight Fletcher Last week, we discussed the fact that God has called Christians to be cultural architects who help to shape the social landscape around us. We are in a ‘Kairos moment’ which means the right, critical or opportune moment. The hand of the Lord is on His children and we need to respond to Him. Just like Nehemiah did the impossible when he responded to God’s call, God will use us as He calls the Church back to a heart of love for our country. What we need to do is love what God loves and respond appropriately.
We are called to be God’s reformers, God’s revolutionaries, cultural architects. Reformers are always seeking new ways to rebuild that which was broken and to heal that which is hurting. Right now there is a lot of hurting in our land. Nehemiah was challenged to fix that which was broken and put back in order the things which were in disarray. Throughout history, God has used revolutionary servants, ordinary men and women, to set things back in order and to repair that which was broken.
Cultural reformation is possible. When we speak about national change, many of us check out in our minds. We become fearful rather than having faith. Fear is faith in the wrong thing. In our hearts we believe that we are unable to do much to change what is going on. The task looks insurmountable, impossible, and unachievable! As if it’s all just rhetoric. We need to realise that God is a specialist in doing the impossible. One available person can make a difference
Nehemiah was such a man. What he started mushroomed into the change of a nation. This isn’t unique, the Bible is littered with stories like his. God specialises in starting with just one person and that person can be you. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV). We are designed to shine and to give glory to God. God wants to use us for His glory. It’s part of our design. We have permission to believe that God wants to use us in extraordinary ways.
We have to ensure that we don’t hide the light in us because we’re designed to have an impact on others. Even if we feel as if we don’t have enough, aren’t smart enough, or skilled enough, God can still use us to rebuild the walls of our country. Nehemiah was a cupbearer. He didn’t have a building degree, wasn’t trained in management, neither was he a prophet or priest. The light in us is not our light. It is the Lord’s light shining through us.
Consider also Daniel, taken into captivity and essentially was a slave. God used Daniel to have an impact on three pagan kings (Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus). Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.” Daniel 4:37 (NIV). You can’t get lower than a slave, but he had impact. He was not a preacher, but his light shone where he was placed and he had impact. God has placed us among people upon whom He wants us to have an impact. If you allow God to use you He will do it.