Let Your Light Shine (Isaiah 58 Commentary)

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8

Yesterday evening I was feeling pretty overwhelmed by life. This week was HARD. I was sick, Paul got less work than was expected, our van needed MORE repairs, and then I woke up with a clogged duct (good times…😐). I could feel myself slipping into hopelessness about our situation, and the only reason I stayed somewhat sane was because my husband kept reminding me, "This is just a battle for our peace. We have to stay FOCUSED." 

So, after I put the baby to sleep last night I sat in my rocking chair and waited for the Lord to speak to me. Anything. As I closed my eyes and rocked I had a vision of the scene in the Lord of the Rings where you, as the viewer, become totally convinced that there is no longer hope for the good guys and their deaths are imminent and evil will now rule Middle Earth. The cinematography is incredible because the scene is almost completely dark, shadowy, and consumed by death. Then, on the mountain, LIGHT BREAKS, and Gandalf charges down the mountain as a sliver of fluorescent light follows him, and the scene changes.

When I saw this in the spirit, I thought to myself, “Well, it’s about time, Jesus!” You know, because this week about killed me…haha. Then, I went to bed.

This morning as I worshiped I saw this picture again of the light breaking into the battle and changing the nature of it, and I heard the phrase, “Your light will break forth.” I knew that was a scripture, so I entered it into my Bible app and was brought to Isaiah 58. Immediately what stood out to me was the light breaking was NOT God. It was MY light that was breaking forth. Your light. Not God’s light. It made me think of how many times we ask God for His light to break through, while we patiently, sometimes desperately wait, but the breakthrough God is wanting to do is INTERNAL.

 I think it’s important to notice the IF’s and THEN’s in scripture so we can gather some context. So, I read the beginning of Isaiah 58 and put simply, PERFORMANCE will never cause our light to break forth. Other translations refer to the light as salvation. Performance will never earn us salvation. IF we will do away with performance and serve Him in authenticity, caring for the things He cares for, THEN, our light will break forth.

His righteousness goes before us, the goodness of His glory is our rear guard, and all we have to do is let our light shine!

“THEN you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” Isaiah 58:9 (emphasis mine)

So many times- and I am so guilty of this- we think that the battle is between God and the devil. Good and evil. But, no, that battle has already been fought and won! Hallelujah!

The REAL battle is between what is happening in my head and what the truth of God says about my situation. That is the battle of breakthrough. That is the path to peace.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression...THEN, your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday.” Isaiah 58:9-10 (emphasis mine)

     If you want your light to break forth, and your healing to appear swiftly, breaking the yoke of oppression is really the place to start, that is, FIND FREEDOM. The good news is, it's easily accessed in Christ. 

“The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” Isaiah 58:11-12

This morning John spoke on Nehemiah and how those of us in Kerrville have a mandate to restore our city. When I got home, I actually read to the end of Isaiah 58 and verse 11-12 stood out to me. It’s a THEN promise: If we will do all He says (surrender our lives to Him, consecrate our hearts, BREAK THE YOKE OF OPPRESSION, GIVE TO OTHERS, trust Him to have our needs met, be strengthened in Him to name a few), THEN we will be the ones to repair the broken walls of our city, and restore the streets!

How prophetic is it that the dwelling place God wants to repair before the cities are restored is ME. It's YOU. We are the dwelling place He wants!!  Healthy people make healthy cities!!

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14

I believe the Sabbath has different implications in the new covenant, but the standard of rest and obedience remain the same. IF we will honor the Lord with our lives, THEN we will find joy and triumph on the heights of the land (yeah!)and feast on our eternal inheritance.

Thank you God that we have everything, everything, everything- by your mercy and grace- to live bright lives, full of breakthrough. Our darkness will shine like the day, we’ll rebuild our city, bring freedom to the captives, experience joy and the fullness of our inheritance when we depart from oppression and religion, submit our lives to you, and love the way you love.

(Yeah!!!)