Light

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

This verse is very encouraging to me and I bring it to mind often. Actually, I cling to it. There is no shortage of darkness in this world – natural disasters, wars, and economic hardships, broken and hurting families, violence in the media, etc. – all of which are distressing and sometimes scary. But this verse offers reassurance and hope.

Before Jesus came, a certain group of people – those living in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali – were “sitting in darkness.” The Bible even says they were sitting “in the land and shadow of death.” But, “upon them a light dawned.” (Matthew 4:15-16) This light was Jesus. “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life,” Jesus said in John 8:12. Jesus is the light who overcomes the darkness. This gives reassurance and hope during the darkest times of our lives.

Christmas is a few days away. When you see all the decorative lights around town, be reminded of The Light – Jesus. He is God’s Son, born to the virgin Mary over 2000 years ago in the town of Bethlehem in Israel. He was sent to redeem us out of our darkness. In Jesus is life, and the life was the Light of men. (John 1:4) Jesus is victorious over the darkness. May this give you peace, joy and hope at Christmas and all year long.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. John 1:4

This is a busy time of year so this week’s exercise is very simple and ties in with the theme of light.

Pretend that your breast bone has a built-in spotlight which projects a beam of light outward at a 90 degree angle from your body. Now, you want your spotlight to shine straight ahead of you, not down at your feet. This means that you need to straighten your spine and lift up your chest. (This is the same as the Back Extension exercise which was previously described. Click here to review it.) Hold this “lifted” position a moment to sense what if feels like and to detect your back muscles at work. Then relax.

A bent-over tendency is probably the most common detriment to good posture. Directing your “spotlight” forward instead of downward will help correct this habit. Perhaps you could print out one of the verses about light and post it as a reminder to yourself to shine your spotlight straight ahead. This will set you on course for increasing length and strength!