By Gbemiga Olakunle
” Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD has 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 “- Isaiah 60:1-3, KJV.
The title of this Short Exhortation – Arise and Shine is a command and not a piece of advice from the only One who has the capacity to perform His words in our lives.
But for these prophetic words to be fulfilled in our lives, we have to obey His command promptly.
This express command may mean different things to different sets of people. For instances,
1. To the Poor or the one that is stagnant financially, it may mean arise and getting out of poverty into prosperity. Poverty is a reproach and no poor person can shine in the midst of his/ her colleagues
2. To the Sick, the Command may mean arise and get out of your sickbed so that you can move about your normal business. Health is wealth and so poor health can drain the finances of even a rich fellow and can dispatch the person to his or her grave.
3. To the barren, the Command may mean be fruitful and remove the stigma of barrenness with evidence of beautiful children playing around the compound to the delight of their parents who were hitherto tagged barren by the Society.
4. And to the eligible Singles who are overdue for marriage, Arise and Shine may mean getting one’s bones of bones and one’s flesh of flesh and being happily married. The Bible does not support a life of prolonged loneliness except for spiritual reasons through the special grace of GOD.
On a wider dimension as a family, the Command may mean moving from generational curses to generational blessings. Any family that is under a generational curse will always be limited in every area of their lives’ endeavours.
The same is applicable to larger societies as a community or as a Nation. To arise and shine may mean getting out of insecurities, poor governance, etc to a relatively more secured society with evidence of good governance and proper management of limited resources.
It is our prayers, therefore, that as we look forward to the Yuletide Seasons, the LORD will remove every form of darkness that may be preventing our Rising and Shining either as individuals, families, or corporate entities in JESUS Name.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance.
‘ Gbemiga Olakunle, JP