…weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Ps 30:5.

When you light a candle, the wick has to burn for it to shine its light. The bigger the flame, the more light it sends into the room.

Some people just seem to shine the light of Christ every day, in everything they do. There’s always a smile on their face, and sometimes we wonder why. How could they be that joyful all of the time?

There are times we have to go through a “burning”, or a time of weeping before we can shine the light of Christ to those around us. It could be a long-term illness, a struggle, or difficulties in a relationship. It is then when all we feel we can do is lean on the Lord to make it through the day, let alone be a beacon of light to others. Going through the burning process is not pleasant, but sometimes it is necessary.

It may be that He will shine brighter in the midst of the burn, in the midst of the situation that we are in at the time. That is when we will shine the brightest for Him. We may not be aware of how much our light shines because we are just trying to lean on Him for His strength in the midst of a bad situation.

We may feel that we are just a flicker of light in such a dark world, but a flicker is better than nothing. Even a small candle will send light into a dark room, and the light shines brightest in the darkest places.

Your small flame may be lighting up more darkened hearts than you realize. And when the burning is over, you will see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, and in the morning – when it is over – your joy will come.

From ministry friend Pam Rehbein.