Without light you can’t see far. You can dream tons of dreams but you need light to pursue them.
A recent quake in east China reportedly claimed more than 800 lives. Yet, rescuers were able to release an 88 years old mother of five children. One of the sons said he could hear his mother’s voice under the rubble. And true to it, upon drilling to where she was, they found her alive. The first words she uttered were, “You naughty boy, turn on the light!”
When I first read the woman’s words I felt that must have been something they say every day in her family. Turn on the light and get out of the dark.
Where you are today is where your light starts from. David’s light started as a shepherd boy. He saw victory when his countrymen, his seven brothers, and King Saul saw defeat during the battle of Israel against Goliath.
Joseph’s light started when he was a little boy with a coat of many colors. He dreamt dreams in which people were bowing down to him. Those dreams angered his brothers who, as a fallout sold him to slavery. While a slave, he was wrongly accused and imprisoned for sexual harassment he was the victim of. Nonetheless, he kept his light on. His light never went down in the prison. When opportunity came for him to shine the light he interpreted the dreams of two palace officials, the King’s chief baker and chief butler respectively. By this time, prison or no prison, he was ready to shine the light on his generation. Knowing what he carried on the inside, he implored the two officers to mention him to the king so that he could be released.
It took two years to have him mentioned by the butler when King Pharaoh dreamt some terrible dreams and needed someone to interpret them.
So on the day Joseph was invited from prison to the palace of King Pharaoh, he was ready. All he needed was to turn on the switch. And his light beamed. Not only over the palace but it beamed all over Egypt and the neighboring kingdoms. After he interpreted the king’s dreams, the king felt and decided he was the right person to execute the program of the dreams interpretation. If you describe Joseph’s 24 hour transformation as “From prisoner to prime minister”, you won’t be further from the truth. He deserved it. He dreamed the dream and time has come to live the dream.
Let’s ask: What do you do after you dream your dream; after you idealize what you’d like to become? We turn again to Joseph. All along his travails, Joseph did not give up on his dreams. He kept a good and great attitude. Soon after he got to the house of Potiphar who bought him as a slave, the Bible helps us to understand that his light shinned quickly. Potiphar promoted him over all the slaves in his court. Not only that, Potiphar noticed that because of him, his fortunes were increasing. He noticed something special about Joseph. God’s hand was upon him and Potiphar and his household were the beneficiaries. As a result, he loved him and promoted him even further. He made Joseph the head of his household and everyone came under his command except his boss’s wife. Everywhere he went and everything he touched reflected the shinning light. When Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to have sex with her, he refused and ran away from her. But to cover her shame, she reported to her husband that Joseph was the aggressor. He was thrown to prison. Who has heard of a slave messing around with his owner’s wife and getting away with it? It’s too high a risk regardless if it’s consensual.
But that’s not the purpose of this article. When Joseph was hauled into prison, it didn’t take long for the prison officials to recognize the light that he carried. And the hand of God that set him apart every time. So, again, the prison guards turned to him for leadership
Thomas Edison knew about light. After all he invented the light bulb. But it was not a single strike. He had to learn persistency. Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen started Microsoft with MS-DOS but they saw the light. Right in the garage of Bill Gates’ parents, they saw a light that would shine all over the world. Their computer software invention, Windows, would one day power all computers in the world.
Regardless of how anyone feels about the 144th President of the United States of America, we can’t but agree that he saw the light early and didn’t turn away from it. As the child of an immigrant father who was raced by a single mother, it takes more than guts and luck to become the POTUS. It must have dawned on him at some point in his younger life that anything was possible. I believe once he perceived the light, he decided to pursue his dreams. Later, he could have settled down to the satisfaction of being an Harvard Law School graduate, or stopped at the point he became a Professor in his faculty. He pushed a little further. He became a politician and became a Senator in his adopted state of Illinois. Not done, he saw an opportunity to rise to national prominence and became a Senator of the United States of America a feat only a few African Americans have attempted. This explains the title of his book, “The Audacity of Hope”. The light bulb must be switched on. How about taking that audacious hope to the exalted office of President?
We were living witnesses to the highly contested primaries of 2008 especially when he and Hilary Clinton emerged as the final two contestants of the Democratic Party. First, the pundits and much of the population thought little of his “audacity” judging by the lackluster performance of previous presidential contenders of African American background. But one state after the other, he grew in popularity and acceptance. And he went on to win first, the nomination, and the presidential race in November 2008. Against all odds, he won again for a second term in 2012. President Barack Obama proved without any shadow of doubt, that you can become what you want to become.
“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun”; Eccl. 11:7. It is for seeing ahead. It is for overcoming darkness, for helping you to not grope when others are moving ahead. But we’re not just talking about electricity or sunshine. These are metaphors of the LIGHT that makes a shepherd boy to become the most powerful king arguably in all generations of mankind. We’re talking of something that propels and channels its carriers from no entities to great personalities.
How do I contact the Light? How do I know what I even want to become? And how do I pursue my dreams?
These are valid questions of a yearning heart.
1. Recognize first and foremost that you can become anything you want to be
2. Make a list of things that interest you most, from the mundane to the most sophisticated of careers.
3. If you’re a Christian and believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, take these simple steps:
1. Decide consciously that this is a strategic decision of your life
2. Plan a time of personal separation and retreat to spend time alone with God. Some couples do this together and there’s nothing wrong with it.
3. Go to a hotel, library or secure resort where you are sure the noise level is minimal.
4. Spend time to study the Word of God pertaining to the things you have written down.
5. Pray to God to speak to you in that place where you are, to guide you and choose for you the best choice to make
6. Make sure to have brought along writing materials be they electronic or paper.
7. The chances are that the Holy Spirit will reveal some things to you and you may be surprised you will get a bonus of ideas because God loves those who make efforts to seek Him for things of this nature.
8. You can even ask God to reveal to you names of people and institutions to go to for carrying through your dreams, be it for financial help, mentorship or participation.
9. The ball is now in your court to start living your dream. Challenges will come but know what you heard from God and stay focused on pursuing your goals. And don’t stop going back to God for guidance, fortitude and favors. In a nutshell, you can turn on the light inside of you. You can become what you want to become. God bless.
Flourish Where You're Planted 