But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Genesis 1:2-4
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
But to them that fear my name, what is the name of the Lord? Exodus 34:5-7
And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
The Lord also calls His name His glory, see Exodus 33:18-19
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
What then is meant by fearing his name?
Proverbs 8:13: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
The fear of the Lord or the name of the Lord is to hate evil and in Malachi 4:2 the Bible says to them that fear the Lord the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. Is there a place in the Bible that the call is made to fear God?
Revelation 14:6-7: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. This is the first angel’s message and this call always comes after a period of darkness. All should be familiar with the term the dark ages and the Bible marks for us the end of this darkness in Daniel 11:40. The information from this verse is a historical landmark, but there is also a spiritual awakening, as well as a time when our ignorance of our true condition must come to an end. Heaven, looking down, and seeing the delusions into which men were led, knew that a divine Instructor must come to earth. Men in ignorance and moral darkness must have light, spiritual light; for the world knew not God, and he must be revealed to their understanding. Truth looked down from heaven and saw not the reflection of her image; for dense clouds of moral darkness and gloom enveloped the world, and the Lord Jesus alone was able to roll back the clouds; for he was the light of the world. By his presence he could dissipate the gloomy shadow that Satan had cast between man and God. Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Through the accumulated misrepresentations of the enemy, many were so deceived that they worshiped a false god, clothed with the attributes of the satanic character. Christian Education, 73.
The above quote shows the relationship that is sustained between sin and darkness, conversion and light; but how do these information relate to health? There is an old adage which says “what we don’t know will not harm us” and falsehood of this saying is needed to develop the point of this piece. But first a question: would I be free from bodily harm if, in my ignorance, I drink an unlabeled bottle of bleach? If the old adage is true the answer would be a no but reality provides us with a different option. Darkness, physical and spiritual, provides for disease and death therefore it is important to see in both the natural and the spiritual the need for light: ignorance cannot be pleaded on this wise.
Invalids too often deprive themselves of sunlight. This is one of nature’s most healing agents. It is a very simple, therefore not a fashionable remedy, to enjoy the rays of God’s sunlight and beautify our homes with its presence. Fashion takes the greatest care to exclude the light of the sun from parlors and sleeping rooms by dropping curtains and closing shutters, as though its rays were ruinous to life and health. It is not God who has brought upon us the many woes to which mortals are heirs. Our own folly has led us to deprive ourselves of things that are precious, of blessings which God has provided and which, if properly used, are of inestimable value for the recovery of health. If you would have your homes sweet and inviting, make them bright with air and sunshine. Remove your heavy curtains, open the windows, throw back the blinds, and enjoy the rich sunlight, even if it be at the expense of the colors of your carpets. The precious sunlight may fade your carpets, but it will give a healthful color to the cheeks of your children. If you have God’s presence and possess earnest, loving hearts; a humble home, made bright with air and sunlight, and cheerful with the welcome of unselfish hospitality, will be to your family, and to the weary traveler, a heaven below. Testimony for the Church, Volume Two, 527.
Make Others Happy— Be joyful in God. Christ is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Look toward the light. Accustom yourselves to speak the praise of God. Make others happy. This is your first work. It will strengthen the best traits of character. Throw the windows of the soul wide open heavenward, and let the sunshine of Christ’s righteousness in. Morning, noon, and night your hearts may be filled with the bright rays of heaven’s light. Welfare Ministry, 79.
What are the windows of the soul you may ask: The Lord purifies the heart very much as we air a room. We do not close the doors and windows and throw in some purifying substance; but we open the doors and throw wide the windows and let heaven’s purifying atmosphere flow in. The Lord says, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light.” [John 3:21.] The windows of impulse, of feeling, must be opened up toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of the mind, the imagination must have heavenly themes for contemplation, and every element of the nature must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God. [Our Father Cares, 211] Windows of impulse and feeling, these are the windows of the soul. We may feel to lay around in a darkened room all day, we may revenge a wrong done to us by rendering evil for evil, but these things bring darkness and death physically.
Sunlight, both physically and spiritually, is very needful as has been shown. It acts as a purifier in both the natural and spiritual world. Let us ask God to help us to get both the Sunlight of his word and also the physical sunlight in our lives.
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