Is Your Light Under A Bushel?

Luke 11:33 "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

When we were babysitting my niece my daughter would since this little song "This Little Light Of Mine" with her. I'm sure some of you have heard the song or even sung it with your children.

The second verse goes like this...

Hide it under a bushel....NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel....NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel....NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine...Let it shine...Let it shine.

As they were singing that one day God gave me a thought.

Are we hiding our light under a bushel? God commands us in His Word to let our light shine through us. That light is Jesus Christ. John 8:12 says "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Unfortunately, some people aren't letting God's light shine through their lives because it is hidden under a bushel.

As I was thinking about that God began to reveal some kinds of bushels we tend to hide our light under.

One is the bushel of sin. It might be past sin or present sin. If it is a past sin you can't see to forgive yourself for, then you must realize that I John 1:9 is still in the Bible. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you've confessed that sin then know that God has forgiven it. You need to claim that promise and trust in it. If it is a present sin then you need to confess it to God as sin and repent of it and let God's light shine again from your life.

The second bushel I thought of was the bushel of regret. I let God's light be hid under this bushel in my life for quite some time. I have things in my past that I regretted doing and for a long time I couldn't forgive myself for those things and I regretted that I ever engaged in those things. We're talking about things that most of you probably never even THOUGHT of doing much less did them. The main thing I regretted for a long time was not keeping myself pure for the one I would marry. One day God showed me that I was being a hindrance to myself in the area of God using me like He desired to do. But I got victory in that area of regrets!! Don't get me wrong...I'm still ashamed of those things and I'll never forget them simply because they are tools I can use to help others going through similar things. But I no longer live in a state of regret like I did. That bushel is gone from my life. Another regret is the regret of not getting saved sooner in my life. I wasn't saved till the age of 28 years of age. (If you've not read my salvation testimony...go here and you can read it.) I'm sure many of us could say that we regret not getting saved sooner. But...there again...God has used the wrong choices I made before getting saved to let me help others.

Lastly there is the bushel of burdens. We are told in God's Word in I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." It is necessary to bear burdens. That is something I'm sure we all know and understand. But when our burdens consume us they can be a negative thing. They can become a bushel that keeps God's light from shining through our lives. That is not what God intended our burdens to do. They are meant to keep us coming to Him in prayer...whether it be on someone else's behalf or on our own behalf. When we let our burdens weigh us down...then we find ourselves not being able to look past that burden and it prevents us from being effective for Christ. It is then that our light is hidden under the bushel of burdens and God's light cannot shine through.

Is your light hidden under one of these bushels? Maybe your light isn't hidden under one of these bushels I mentioned...but it is hidden under another bushel. There are many other kinds of bushels. If you aren't being effective for Christ then your light is covered by that bushel and it is not shining.

Confess it to God and know He has forgiven you. Let that light shine freely once again. And don't let that bushel turn into a bushel of regret.

Then determine as the song says.....

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine!!!