Glow in the Dark

There is a glass ball in my house. Inside are swirls of blue and red creating a look of small jellyfish with their heads clumped together. It's actually a beautiful piece of work. I could sit staring at it for a time, feeling its smooth surface in my palm. 
When it's not being held though, it sits on a bookshelf, offering a taste of calming home decor. 

And it has a secret. 

It glows in the dark. 

Its radiance severs the darkness. 

There is beauty and mystery to something that glows in the dark. 
It offers light to a dark space without plugging it in or flicking a switch.

It makes you question the science behind it. 

So I wondered how. How does this work? 

The glass ball receives the light of day for hours, and then when it is dark, the show begins.

The glass ball is made of a substance called phosphors. 
Phosphors store energy from light and then emit a glowing appearance when light is absent.
The power is released when darkness comes. 

I was listening to a podcast the other day, and the speaker said something, which I heard differently. She was talking about taking risks, making moves, building a business from nothing, doing something new and scary in the darkness of the unknown. 
So when she said, "Build in the dark", I heard, "Glow in the dark."

Sometimes that's how God speaks. He says the words that you're not too sure about, but clearly hear. He speaks the idea that may seem totally off point, but it brings you to a new and deeper place of revelation. 
And I couldn't shake that phrase out of my head. Because once it was in there, it went on repeat. 
Glow in the dark.
Glow in the dark. 
Glow in the dark.

Who? Me? God, You want me to glow in the dark? What do You mean?

And then I saw the glass ball again. Sitting on the shelf. I picked it up, admiring its design. I wondered about it all. 

In order for it to glow in the dark, it needs to spend a lot of time in the light. 

In order for it to fulfill its purpose, it needs to receive energy from the light.

And even when no one else is in the room and the darkness surrounds, it still glows.

Sometimes we need to glow in the dark.

Sometimes we need to live in the light, absorb it; turn our faces upwards, close our eyes, and let the light warm our skin. We sit that way for a while and then when darkness comes, we can glow; we can radiate the love of Jesus; we can be a light and hope for others; we can just simply glow in the dark, even when no one is watching. Sometimes, all we can do when the darkness attempts to swallow us is sit there, glowing, even if faintly, still glowing a glimmer of hope. 

His light brings revelation. His light leads in darkness. His light reveals truth. His light gives warmth. 

His light teaches. His light loves. His light illuminates. His light heals. 

This gleaming gem is pivotal: 

Spend time in the Light and you will glow in the dark.

"I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12, NLT)

"The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:5, NLT)