It’s the twenty-first century, so by now most of us all have these wonderful handheld devices we call smart phones. We can do almost anything on our phones; you think of it and there is probably a way for it to happen. Most of us use our phones whether it is bright or dark inside a room. On the phone we have the option to have the screen brightness on auto or control. On auto, the brightness on the phone screen will change depending on the light around it. On control, the user is in control of the brightness at all times. He or she can choose if they want it bright or dim. The screen will stay bright even when it is around darkness. This brings me to the question: is our light on auto or is God in control?

If our light is on auto and the people around us are not doing everything they are supposed to do—if they are not acting in an acceptable manner or fully living for God—what will our light do? Will our spiritual light dim and grow darker and darker because we are letting all the darkness pull us to its level? Will we allow the people around us to influence us where we do the things we know we shouldn’t be doing? If we let our light go to match the people around us, we won’t be able to witness to them at all. When they see we let our light dim, they may think we must not really love living for God if we don’t care enough to stick to it.

Then we leave them and go to church. Now we are around our youth group and church family. Do we act the way we know we need to and let our light shine bright the best we can since we have not been acting right. Or is God in control? Do we allow God to let our light shine bright no matter who is around? Do we do everything we need to let our light be the brightest it can, even in the darkest times—even if everyone around us isn’t?

We need to let God be in control of our light. When we let God be in control, we will be able to be at full brightness, shining bright in a world of darkness. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). This verse is telling us to let our light shine so the people around us can see the good. How can we do that if we are keeping our light on auto? How can we show the world good if our light dims every time we go to witness? The answer is simple: we can’t. We can’t show the world who they need to be if we are not being who we need to be.

Now, if you have let your light dim, don’t feel discouraged because we have a loving and forgiving God. We can ask for forgiveness and ask God to let our light shine bright even in a world of darkness, then we can take a stand, put God in control of our brightness, and win the world. Go out there and witness to your middle school, witness to your high school, witness to your family, witness to your co-workers, witness to your neighborhood. With our brightness on bright, we can win the world.

My name is Samantha Woods, most people call me Sammie. I am a very outgoing, talkative girl. I love spending time with friends, and I most definitely love eating. I’m from the south, so of course I love drinking my sweet tea. Helping the kids in church is one of my most favorite things to do. I adore every minute of it. I also teach the P7 club located in my high school. Teaching the people around me how to improve their walk with God literally brightens my entire day.