“The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:1

David knew that God was the light that brought illumination to his life. There were times when David would go through hard situations, and he thought that the lamp that lit his way was growing dim. He felt like his enemies had finally found the chance to destroy him. However, he knew that the Lord was his light and salvation. The moments that David thought all his circumstances were against him, were the moments his path would illuminate and God’s glory was revealed to him. In the face of every difficult situation David experienced, he was able to see how God’s light was always surrounding him to bring salvation.

With regard to this Charles Spurgeon said, “There is a great difference between the light and the eye that sees it. A blind person may know a lot about the brightness of the sun; it is not bright for him, it does not give light to him. In the same way, to know that “God is light” is one thing (1 John 1:5), but to say, “The Lord is my light” is something very different.”

A Biblical prophecy says, “The people living in darkness have seen a great Light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a Light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16). Those who had lost all hope in life, and had resigned themselves to the death that was coming for them, were changed by the light of the message of the Gospel. They realized that in the waiting room of eternal destruction, death walks among them with gleams of light paralyzing the consciousness of those it hunted down and are now walking with gigantic steps to their own condemnation. Death shows a dim light so as to make the unwary not look at the Sun of Justice that dwells in the life of our Redeemer. To preach the Gospel is simply to open the curtains and help people see the enormous difference that exists between the dim light of those in the shadow of death and the powerful light of the Sun of Justice that illuminates all things.

The prophet said, “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). The wise men from the East were guided by the light of a star that took them to where they could meet the one who would be the Sun of Justice. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:10-11).

A furious Saul of Tarsus, who in his religious zeal thought that Christianity would inflict great damage to the beliefs of the Jews, was traveling with signed letters that gave him authority to put Christians in jail and mistreat them in an effort to stop the advancement of Christianity. While he was on his horse, galloping together with the soldiers that were part of this murderous team, a light came that knocked him down. It was no ordinary light, but the Sun of Justice. The impact was such that he was left blind for three days. While prostrated on the floor, he heard the Lord saying, “‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:4-6). God then sent a disciple, Ananias to pray for him and tell him why the Lord revealed Himself to this man. “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16). The Lord did powerful works through him, and the Book of Acts devotes most of its content to the successful ministry of this single man of God known as the Apostle Paul.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“In November, my brother went to ask for a judicial background check, a document that certifies whether an individual has any police or criminal record. They said he was accused of drug trafficking in Peru, for this reason he was sought after by the Interpol in 188 countries. He was already convicted to 25 years in prison, and there was an extradition request filed by Peru. It was terrible news for him, because he had never been to Peru, nor had he ever been out of the country. He could not understand what was happening.

We began fervently interceding with our whole family, because we were depending on the evidence that Peru had against him. After being in prison for 4 days, they had to let him free due to the expiration of the legal terms and because no demand came from Peru. Nobody was able to give him an explanation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, later on, agents from the Attorney’s General Office came to see him with an officially signed letter stating that his name and his personal document number agreed with the information sent from Peru; therefore, he would be placed under arrest immediately. We organized a group on Facebook, “We, who know that Rene Martinez is innocent,” that soon had 1,200 members who kept interceding for him every day. The Lord gave me a promise, “The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread” (Isaiah 51:14). Finally, less than a month later, the order to release him came from Peru. All charges had been removed and the prosecution ordered his freedom. Even though the days in prison were very difficult for my brother, he was able to encounter the God that performs miracles, and Rene now knows a God he did not know before.” (Alcira Martinez)

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“There is no darkness in me, because through Jesus the light of truth is shining over my life.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Four.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

• Old Testament: Lamentations 2; Song of Songs 7
• New Testament: John 7:1-13; 1 Peter 4:12-19