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Once again, we come to Channukah in dark times. Our society seems to be controlled by those who love themselves and power above anything else. God is mocked, and many have abandoned their faith, fearing rejection and retaliation. Suffering seems to be growing, leading many to despair. But in times like these, we face a choice: Will we stand for God and push back against the darkness? Or will we succumb to despair and ultimately, death? As Messiah’s Community, we are called to stand against the darkness. Like all God’s people before us, we do this through the power of Adonai. We must shine with His light, share His love, and be continually filled with His Spirit. This Channukah I would like to spend a few minutes discussing the importance of shining with the light of the Lord and what we can do if we have felt that light dim.

As followers of Messiah Yeshua, we have been entrusted with the light of God—the Holy Spirit—who illuminates our hearts with the power and knowledge to spread Adonai’s light to a world in such deep darkness. We are like Menorahs, lamps that shine with God’s light in His Temple. Just as a physical lamp banishes darkness, God’s light transforms our spiritual darkness into spiritual light.

Every single human being needs to experience the Lord’s light and be filled with His Spirit. We, as believers, cannot hide the light Adonai has given us; we must share it with a desperate world. This is what Messiah Yeshua commanded us to do in Matthew 5:14-16:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Our faith, our light, cannot be hidden but must be set out for everyone to see. We need to place it, like our Menorahs, in our windows as a sign for a world covered in darkness. The darkness seems to be growing with the rise of Antisemitism and so many other evils, but we cannot allow these dangers to extinguish our calling.

But this world needs more than Menorahs in windows. It needs the light of the Lord. The Menorah reminds us not only to be filled with His light but to share it. We shine God’s light by sharing the Good News of Messiah Yeshua, boldly declaring that He is the light of this world and the only source of eternal life. When we share our faith and show kindness to others through our actions, we shine with the light of the Lord.

This is how our lives should be—shining brightly with the light of our Messiah. But we know that we live in a fallen world, and we will make mistakes. We will also encounter moments of doubt and fear as well. In the story of Channukah, we learn how the Menorah in God’s Temple was extinguished because of sinful people and our fallen world. Similarly, the light of God in our lives, while never fully extinguished, can diminish. We can move from powerful, brilliant flames filled with the Holy Spirit to just tiny candles, or even glowing embers. This can happen because of sin in our lives or from the effects of living in a world surrounded by darkness. Our own emotions or suffering caused by others can rob us of our joy and dim the godly illumination in our lives. So, what do we do when our flame begins to flicker and fade?

At times like this in my own life, I remember the words of Rabbi Paul to his disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 1. This passage describes a time when Timothy was in tears – the exact reason isn’t given, but they are not tears of joy. Rabbi Paul reminds Timothy of his faithfulness and how he comes from a line of faithful women. His words of encouragement to Timothy in verses 6-7 are an encouragement to anyone dealing with problems and feeling their light diminish:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

In these verses, Rabbi Paul reminds us to rekindle the gifts God has given us. When you want to revive a fire, you need to add more fuel. The “fuel” for our spiritual fire is found in drawing closer to the Lord. This can be through prayer, reading God’s Word, worship, fellowship with other believers, or other spiritual disciplines. The enemy wants us to give in to despair and stop moving forward, but we must reject that lie. By making the right choices each day, the light of God within us will continue to grow and become even stronger.

Rabbi Paul reminds us that while we live in a world filled with fear and uncertainty, that is not what the Lord desires for us. The Holy Spirit does not fill us with fear but instead with divine power, sacrificial love, and self-control. These qualities go beyond ordinary human abilities. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to resist temptation and to fearlessly proclaim the Lord, even in the face of death. This power gives us true Shalom and wisdom. The love found in God’s light is not like the fleeting love of humans. It is a sacrificial love that empowers us to love even our enemies and to forgive those who have hurt us, no matter how deep the wound is. The self-control that comes from the Lord allows us to master ourselves, even when faced with temptation.

As we celebrate this Channukah it is my prayer that as the world around us becomes darker, God’s light will become even brighter in our lives. That each one of us will be lamps helping to lead others out of the darkness and into the light. It is also my prayer that if we have become wearied, fearful, or anything else that has diminished the light of God in our lives, this will be a time to draw closer to Him and become refilled. May Adonai brilliantly fan into flame the light of the Holy Spirit in each of our hearts.