Destined to Shine: A Light Lit Up to Illuminate the World
You look around you and you see a world searching for bearings. The studies confirm it: in 2021, nearly 30% of Canadians felt they had no real meaning or purpose in life. Against this backdrop, the program At the Heart of Revival, broadcast on ICC MONTREAL TV during the 2025 ADN Revival Camp, asks a question that concerns you directly: what if you were destined to shine?
Around the table sit three servants of God who each shine in their own sphere: Nadia Kpondjo, active in governance and data, author of the book Destined to Shine, Romaric Ware, in the field of computer science, and Patience Katunda, in teaching and leadership. Together, they return to the verse that brings them together: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Apostle Yvan (Mohammed Sanogo) has carried this theme for years within the house, to the point of turning it into a teaching series and an app.
1. Wake Up First, Then You Will Shine
Before a spiritual revival, there is an inner awakening. Nadia points this out by quoting Paul: "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14). Then she continues with Isaiah 60:1-2: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you." The revival camp exists for one purpose: to shake you on this exact point, to get you out of sleep, out of excuses, and to stop letting circumstances keep you from revealing Christ.
And the deep reason is simple: you are already that light. You do not have to manufacture it. When you came to Jesus Christ, he lit you up from the inside. A lamp that carries within itself a source of energy does only one thing: it shines. Revival is therefore intrinsically tied to shining, because your true nature is light, and light is made to illuminate.
2. Shining Makes Your Revival Contagious
Romaric starts from his experience at school. His values, his behavior, his excellence in his studies, the awards he received: all of it ended up drawing the attention of others. Some classmates came to ask him questions, not because he preached at them, but because they saw someone who operated differently. "When you start to shine, you make your revival contagious."
Patience carries the thought further with a simple testimony. Nourished by the books and teachings of Apostle Yvan, Neutralizing Public Enemy Number One, the teachings on strongholds, he starts sharing what he is living through in small videos and podcasts. Snowball effect: people come to Christ, others discover ICC, he gets invited to conferences for young people and even onto TV Rogers Gatineau for a series on leadership. The starting point was not visibility, but a deep desire to be transformed.
This is what Apostle Yvan keeps repeating: shining is not about becoming known. It is about the level at which your life lights up others and brings them out of darkness. In Genesis 1:26-28, God created you in his image and gave you a mandate. You were not lit up to stay hidden under a basket: you are here to practice the good works he has prepared.
3. The Traps That Make Your Light Flicker
Wanting to shine exposes you to attacks. The guests identify several, all of which they have lived through in their own journeys.
The trap of popularity. Romaric tells how, as the top-ranked student in his school in his region, invited onto TV shows, sought after to mentor young people, he found himself one day facing a classmate who told him: "I want to be like you." In the moment, he took it as a compliment. Once alone in his room, in prayer, the Lord put his finger on the wound: "He came, and you presented your own person to him. You presented everything, except Christ." From that day on, he decided never to speak again without first making sure his inner motivation was truly turned toward God. The crowd that applauds you is also the crowd that puts you in Christ's place in the hearts of others.
The trap of intimidation. Having become student council president of his school and then of his university, Romaric managed millions of CFA francs. Where the accounts were at their lowest when he arrived, he left nearly 5 million behind at the end of his term. The result: threats, baseless criticism, enemies. Because he refused to let anyone steal, because he held firm on honesty, he had to stand his ground. To keep from giving in, he had to be rooted in Christ, aware of what God had asked of him.
The trap of a neglected heart. Patience insists: what turns a shining star into a falling one is the foundation. And the foundation, in Apostle Yvan's teachings, is always the heart. The higher you climb, the more the cracks show. Pride, greed, money, women, applause that ends up feeding poorly healed insecurities, all of it lies in wait for anyone who has not worked on their inner life. "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23).
Nadia connects this verse to her professional field: in data management, impure data (unreliable, imprecise, inaccurate) leads a company to make bad decisions and ruins its reputation. The parallel is direct for the heart: integrity, honesty, purity, and simplicity determine the reach of your light.
The trap of poorly managed time and laziness. Nadia quotes Psalm 90:12: "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Your days are numbered. Wasting your time, spending your energy on what is not God's will, means missing your mission. Patience digs deeper: in the parable of the talents, the servant who buries his talent is not called "unfaithful," but "wicked and lazy." What keeps many children of God from shining is neither a lack of gifts, nor a lack of talents, nor a lack of resources, it is laziness. They keep postponing what they should be doing.
Romaric adds a key: following Jesus, as he puts it in John 8:12 ("I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness"), means giving things up. It means setting aside your own will, your ambitions, your ten hours of Netflix, in order to go where he goes. Surrender is the fuel of the disciple who shines.
4. The Recipe: Redeem the Time to Shine Where God Is Waiting for You
To the question "how do you redeem the time and shine in the season you are in?", the three guests offer the same basic framework, each with their own nuance.
a. Work on Your Heart First
Patience starts there. Even if you are already developing your gifts, take the time to check the state of your heart. You will never go further than that heart. Aim for a heart that resembles God's own, where the fruit of the Spirit shows up: love, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control. Psalm 89 reveals the secret: when God finds such a heart, he himself adds the anointing, the strength, the support. There are battles you simply will not have because your heart is in order.
b. Be Excellent and Reliable in Practical Matters
Patience shares the advice he was given: at the office, your coworkers will not be moved because you preach, but because you show up on time, respect deadlines, never miss a due date, do what you say and say what you do. With equal skill, the anointing makes the difference, but anointing without discipline, without punctuality, without consistency is not enough. Many people want to shine while lying to skip a day of work: they will later invite their coworkers to the revival camp, without success. Be blameless at work, and your invitations will land.
c. Know Yourself Through God
Nadia sums it up: be before you do, and do before you have. For a child of God, knowing yourself is not asking "what are my gifts?" the way the world does; it is going to God and asking: "What are the good works you have called me to on this earth?" Not every work is yours to do. Some will burn like wood, hay, or straw. The point is to do the right works, the ones prepared in advance for you.
Marie takes this further by citing the episode at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16). Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do you say I am?" Peter (still called Simon at that point) answers: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus reveals something back to him: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." Every time you discover God, you discover yourself, because you came out of him. You are made in his image. The more you know him, the more you know who you are. And because you know who you are, you align yourself accordingly.
Romaric adds this: light does not force itself to shine, it shines naturally. He never made "shining" a goal in itself. It became a consequence of who he is in Christ. The devil then tries to distort that image, which is exactly why following Jesus daily becomes vital: he shapes you, he teaches you his heart, he teaches you to love people the way he does.
d. Be Intentional: Plan Your Life
Nadia drives the point home: the Creator God is a strategic planner. He created step by step, he said "Let there be light," he organized the heavens and the earth. Why would you not plan your own life? You have 24 hours a day, just like everyone else. The difference lies in how you use them. Identify the season you are in (single, young, in school, raising a family), manage your priorities in the light of the Word, plan your day, your week, your year. Nadia recommends a recent series by Apostle Mohammed Sanogo on priorities, and reminds us of Habakkuk: a vision written down comes to pass.
She recommends setting two goals at every stage:
- A transformation goal, what you become. For example: "I am overcoming a lack of forgiveness," "I am growing in agape love," "I will no longer be jealous." Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor (Luke 2:52): imitate him.
- A results goal, what you actually do to shine in the sphere where God is waiting for you.
What you become matters more than what you obtain, but both count.
e. Train Yourself, Equip Yourself
God is not against training. Nadia insists: do not say "I'm 22, I just need to go to work." Work, but keep learning, keep improving. A lamp shines further when placed on a stand: your level of competence often determines the setting where God can position you. Jesus was a carpenter, with real skill in his hands. Paul, the man God used the most in the New Testament, had pushed his rabbinical studies far. Zero multiplied by God's covenant still gives zero; five multiplied by God gives much. Give him something to multiply.
Finally, remember Hebrews 1:9: "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." This verse applies first to Christ, but it traces a path for you: your character determines whether God can raise you above your generation.
Key Takeaways
- You are already light, lit up by Christ. Shining is not a feat to produce, it is a nature to embrace.
- A real revival begins on the inside. Without a personal awakening, there is no outward radiance.
- The quality of your foundation (your heart) determines how far and how long you will shine.
- Popularity, intimidation, a neglected heart, laziness, and poor time management are the traps that make the light flicker.
- Knowing yourself comes through knowing God. You are made in his image; the more you discover him, the more you know who you are.
- Be excellent in the practical things: punctuality, discipline, and meeting deadlines matter more than a spiritual speech.
- Set two goals for every season: one of transformation, one of results. Plan your life the way God planned creation.
Personal Application
- What is the real state of your heart right now? Where are the cracks that climbing higher would reveal?
- Are you more focused on becoming known, or on bringing others out of darkness?
- In what sphere has God already placed you to shine (work, studies, family, neighborhood), and what have you put off out of laziness?
- What are your transformation goal and your results goal for the coming months?
- Are you truly following Jesus, even if it means giving up what you love, or are you expecting him to follow you?
Verses Cited
- Matthew 5:16
- Ephesians 5:14
- Isaiah 60:1-2
- Genesis 1:26-28
- Proverbs 4:23
- Psalm 90:12
- John 8:12
- Matthew 16:13-18
- Matthew 25:14-30 (parable of the talents)
- Psalm 89:20-24
- Hebrews 1:9
FAQ
What does it actually mean to be "destined to shine"?
It means that God created you for a specific purpose (Genesis 1:26-28) and lit you up with an inner light through new birth in Christ. Shining means letting that light illuminate others through your character, your good works, and your way of being, until God is glorified (Matthew 5:16).
How do I know which sphere I am meant to shine in?
Go and ask God: "Lord, what are the good works you have called me to?" Then discover your gifts, your talents, and the season of life you are in, and equip yourself accordingly (training, mentorship, teaching). Your sphere will become clearer as you walk with him and make concrete decisions instead of waiting passively.
How do I avoid falling into the traps of popularity and laziness?
Work on your heart first, keep a motivation oriented toward God rather than toward applause, surround yourself with people who tell you the truth, manage your time in the light of the Word (Psalm 90:12), and plan your life by setting two goals per season, one of transformation (what you become) and one of results (what you do).
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