How's Your Wattage?

Remember the last time you had a three way light bulb reduce itself to one way?  Usually the lower or middle wattage.  You turn the light on and no matter how often you turn that switch, it stays dim.  Can't get that brightness to kick in.  Oh well, off to your supply closet (or the store) to replace the bulb.  Sometimes we replace a 100 watt bulb with a 60 because that is all we have on hand, but oh how much we miss the brightness!  Recently while in a gathering of believers, the Lord showed me everyone in a "different light".  Suddenly all of the earth suits of folks were gone and replaced with white spiritual coverings.  However there was a unique characteristic: each one had a light within that was visible through the translucent covering.  What caught my attention was the variance of the lights.  Some were very bright, creating an aura around them.  Others however were so dim that they were difficult to distinguish among the more vibrant ones.  Some were even flickering, reminiscent of when a light bulb is about to blow.

Needless to say, I immediately began seeking revelation from the Lord for what I had just seen.  Much like in the gospels when Jesus explained to the disciples the meaning of His parables, He began explaining to me what He had shown me.  The light is His light in us.  This is how He sees us; not in our earth suits which cause many of us such consternation.  The varying degrees of brightness are directly related to how connected we are to the power source - Him.  The stronger our connection, the brighter the light.  The weaker the connection, the dimmer the light.  The flickering is caused by short circuits - when our spirit man's connection with the source is being interrupted.  Think about that power cord in your garage that got in the way of your hedge trimmer....  protective coating has been cut away and now the wires are exposed and vulnerable to being cut themselves.

Let's explore this analogy a little further.  First begin with the source: Hebrews 1:3 The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.  Christ is the reflection of God's glory.  God's glory is so bright that man was cautioned to not look upon it, Moses being the exception.  The book of Exodus tells us that once Moses looked upon the glory of God, his own face was so bright that he had to cover it. (Exodus 34:29-35)  His intimate relationship with God was reflected in his countenance. 

When we accepted Christ, we entered into the beginning stages of that intimacy.  It has been our choice since that moment how deeply we go.  Romans 8:29-10 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  This is an unqualified promise - He glorifies those that He has called and justified.  

I had a wonderful opportunity to share with a group of passionate women about my own personal walk and what real repentance means to me.  In the process of that conversation I likened my walk with the Lord to coming out of darkness into shadows then into increasingly brighter light.  When I first accepted Christ as my Savior and accepted His forgiveness, it was as if I had come out of the darkest of nights and stepped into the shadows created by moonlight.  I could see the source of the light but I was not directly in it, at least not enough to really see well.  As my walk has progressed over the last 20+ years, I have stepped further away from the shadows and into the light.  I have gone from moonlight to sunlight and can see much more clearly that which I need to change - that for which I need to repent.  Brilliant light is very revealing!  So is His glory.

I truly believe that the distance that we keep from our Lover God, our Creator, our Abba, actually correlates to the level at which we can reflect His glory, His light.  Personally I want to be in such direct line with His glory that I can be like the magnifying glass that once the sunlight is focused through it can ignite a fire!    But for a moment let's consider those flickering lights.  All of us, myself included have had those seasons where the distractions have been tantamount to chaos in our lives.  The causes for "short circuiting" are as numerous as the stars in the heavens.  Whatever the cause, I believe we know when we are in danger of disconnecting.  God never gives up on us and He will not let the enemy have access without His purposes being fulfilled.  When we begin to get those electrical jolts from a forthcoming "blow-out" there are signs.  We simply have to be in tune enough with Holy Spirit to pick up on the cues.  We can avoid that blow-out and get back to full power through the strength of the Lord.  We will not get it back on our own.  We have no power unless we are connected and plugged in.  The light bulb will not glow unless it is both screwed in and plugged in!

How tightly are you "screwed in" to the lamp through which the power flows?  More importantly, is the lamp plugged in to the power source?  Finally check on the wattage you are exhibiting.  Does your life give light to the lives around you?  My prayer is that each of us is glowing with the maximum glory possible for this moment in our lives and that we will always seek to move to a higher wattage!