“Let there be light”—and, thankfully, some much-needed light has appeared during this new spring season. Although I have always appreciated this delightful time of year, my fondness for it has recently bloomed. This past winter, the gloomy skies, blustery winds, and icy and snow-covered roads seemed to overstay their welcome longer than any years past. The world just seemed dark, the days of wintry weather seemed to drag on and on, and I became skeptical that winter would, indeed, come to an end.

But then, something wonderful happened. As I walked outside one afternoon anticipating sub-zero temperatures, to my delight, my assumptions were wrong. The grass had begun peeking out of the melting snow and sunlight reemerged in the clear blue skies. As I took a deep breath of the new and fresh spring air, excitement and energy filled me—spring had finally sprung, and I could not help but laugh at my unwarranted doubt of spring’s return.

I realized that even in the longest of winters, when it seems like spring will never reappear, darkness will subside and the light always comes again. Through spring’s triumphant return, I was reminded of the triumphant return of Christ and God’s promise to us all—Jesus, the Light, will never leave us hanging. Not only that, jumping into life with the Light brings freshness and freedom, wherever the Light leads.

John 8:12 says, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” Before accepting Jesus, life can seem dark and dismal. But then He enters into the picture, providing light, hope, freshness, and boundless possibilities to both young and mature believers alike—all who follow Him receive new and fresh life.

In my own life, one verse that has shown the extraordinary freshness Christ brings into the lives of believers is Matthew 6:34, which says, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Here, Jesus does not say, “Worry about at least one thing a day and I will handle the rest.” Instead, He points to the fact that there is no need to worry at all. God has a perfect plan for the life of each Christian and He is always at work, even in times of long, cold trials, which He predicts in John 16:33. However, in just the next sentence, Jesus tells believers to “take heart! I have overcome the world.” The Light has overcome the darkness of this world—Jesus has won!

This assurance—and the assurance Christ will be there to guide us through even the craziest of life’s adventures—allows believers to freely follow Jesus wherever He takes us. We need not fret over His plan for our lives; if it is Jesus’ will, He will accomplish it.

What a breath of fresh air! Wherever Jesus calls, we can be certain that the Light will always be there to guide us. After all, if Jesus says we have no need to fear, we certainly can trust it to be true. The Light will always be there to lead the way, bringing much-needed freshness and rejuvenation to all who believe.

Ashley Fiest [AFLBS junior] is a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran, Beulah, N.D.

This article first appeared in Kinship Magazine, Spring 2019 Edition.

Kinship is a magazine of the Free Lutheran Schools. Stay up to date on the latest news, student stories, classroom highlights, and fun tidbits about life on the AFLBS and AFLTS campus.

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