Shine Brightly

Exodus 34:29-30, 33-35; New Living Translation (NLT)

29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. 30 So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him.

33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. 34 But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, 35 and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord.

Mark 4:21; New Living Translation (NLT)

21 Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.

Philippians 2:15b; New Living Translation (NLT)

15 Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Isaiah 58:10; New Living Translation (NLT)

10 Feed the hungry,
    and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
    and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

Isaiah 60:1-3, 5, 19-20; New Living Translation (NLT)

60 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
    For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
    but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your light;
    mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

5 Your eyes will shine,
    and your heart will thrill with joy,
for merchants from around the world will come to you.
    They will bring you the wealth of many lands.

19 “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

    nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set;
    your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
    Your days of mourning will come to an end.

First of all, I will not apologize for all the scripture for this post. God's Word speaks better than I ever can, so I hope that you will take the time to look these scriptures up for yourselves in your own Bibles in your own preferred translations and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through them as well.

Secondly, as I've mentioned to you before, we're studying Priscilla Shirer's Bible Study Armor of God. It was during the study of the Helmet of Salvation that the Lord showed me that we are meant to shine--just as Moses' face glowed so brightly that he had to wear a veil, so are we meant to glow so brightly that we have to wear a veil (a helmet) so that those who see us won't be afraid!!! Moses' veil helped lessen the glow from his face after spending time with God; our helmet of salvation is a way for us to help lessen our own inner glow after spending time with God!

Our walk with God is not meant to scare anyone, especially non-believers. We are meant to draw unbelievers to Christ, to show Christ--the love of Christ--to the unsaved. When we are over-bearing or do things in our zealous joy and excitement for Him, we can scare off unbelievers. I know that I have joked over the years that I do NOT need alcohol to let loose and have fun. I can and do often get very silly and foolishly full of the JOY of the Lord. I don't mean to scare people with my JOY, but I know that there are those who can find it a bit overwhelming.

When I have on my full armor, though, God can take my overwhelming JOY and use it for His glory--to dull it just enough that it doesn't scare off unbelievers, but so that it draws unbelievers to Him. I don't demonstrate the full JOY of the Lord because I want others to notice me or give me attention; I do it because my JOY truly does come from His anointing. His anointing oil of JOY is the ONLY way I am able to have full JOY in Him.

If it was up to me, if I had to function on my own without God, I can promise you that I would be curled up into a ball on my couch, comfortingly snuggled deep inside my blankets, never to come out. And that would be on a good day. But because my wonderful God anointed me with His oil of JOY and because He alone has taken the ashes of my life and made something beautiful and because He alone has turned my mourning into JOY, I am able to shine brightly for Him.

"Radiant with Joy"--isn't that an amazing phrase?! When we look to our Lord for help, we will be RADIANT with [His] JOY!!! Radiant JOY! Isn't that wonderful?! I will shine brightly with JOY for Him when I look to Him for help! Shine brightly! Radiant with JOY!!! May I ever be Radiant with [His] JOY!!!

I will never hide my light under a basket. I will always do my very best to shine brightly for Him--to bring light to those living in darkness--because He Himself has taken ME out of the darkness and brought me into the fullness of His shining Light. For that, I will forever be eternally grateful. What other option do I have than to be one whose light shines so brightly that God has to lessen it by putting a veil (or a helmet) over my face!

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!!!