Share the Light

This morning as I was praying I felt a nudge to ask, “Lord, how should I spend your time today?”

This past week I have spent a lot of God’s time worrying and feeling unsettled about COVID, the election, and the future. I have spent time analyzing and talking about what the candidates said and did. Looking back, was I spending God’s gift of time wisely? 

Fear tells me the lie that I can gain some sense of control over things that are out of my control. It tells me that the more I think, analyze, and talk about something, the more control I have over it. It is a daily mental and spiritual battle that can be exhausting, especially when our entire country is divided and hurting.

The truth is that the election and the future of the leadership of this country is completely out of my control. I did what I personally could by voting, praying, and continuing to pray. The rest is out of my hands.

God never asked me to carry the burden of my country or to rescue it. He never asked me to convince everyone I meet that my candidate is the right candidate. He never asked me to spend His time stalking the news. He never asked me to save the world. Instead He has asked me to do this: 

“He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:37-39

How can I spend my time today loving and serving God and others? That is what I can control. No matter how dark the country gets, my individual light does not have to go out. I can share that light with others by loving and serving my family, friends, neighbors, and strangers.

The devil knows that the more he keeps me focused on the darkness, the less time I spend spreading my light. There is a fire burning inside me and Satan wants to starve it by removing my hope, the oxygen that feeds my fire. He tries to convince me that small acts of love will not make a difference in the world. I must let God’s voice speak louder than his.

Today, instead of worrying, watching the news, scrolling through my phone, or thinking and gossiping about the presidential candidates, I am choosing to do small things with great love.

These small things may be as simple as putting extra care and compassion into the e-mails I send for work, texting or calling to check in on someone I haven’t spoken to in a while, and giving my daughter and husband undivided attention during dinner. These acts may not sway the election or solve the problems of our country, but I will do my part to pass on the light in these dark times. That is all God has asked of me.

God is love and, thus, with every act of love I am sharing God with our country and with the world.