Glowing Because You Know Him
“You’re glowing,” the lady next to me proclaimed as I turned her way. We were at a church prayer service and had just finished praying for someone. At her words, I couldn’t help but smile as I recalled the private prayer request I had made to God earlier that month.
My prayer request came about during a time of reflection with God. During this time, God drew my attention to Moses’ face becoming radiant from spending time in God’s presence (as recounted in Exodus 34:29-35). And this then became my prayer – that my time spent in God’s presence would make me radiant.
The lady at the prayer service had no awareness of this previous request I had made. But through the words she spoke to me, God honored my request in a very tangible and undeniable way. And it wouldn’t be the only time.
A few weeks later, I was at a women’s Bible study. We spent time sharing what God was revealing to us through Biblical scripture and how He had been working in our lives. As I finished sharing my part, another person commented that I was glowing.
Then a few weeks after that, my husband and I were attending a couple’s Bible study. After a time of group discussion and sharing, someone there pronounced me as radiant. And of significance, this person was who we’d been praying for when the first lady told me that I was glowing (of which this individual was unaware). God had now brought it all full circle.
Since then, the words ‘glowing’ and ‘radiant’ have been further spoken to me by others having no knowledge of the story. It’s a desire of my heart that God placed there and that He continues to fulfill. But it has required action on my part. For it to come to fruition, I’ve had to spend time in God’s presence.
Not just at church services, prayer meetings, or Bible study groups, though those things are all important and are contributing factors. But the bulk of my time spent in God’s presence comes in daily living. I spend time with God and seek His voice daily through avenues such as reading and studying the Bible, devotionals, worship music, etc. And prayer, lots of prayer – morning, evening, and all throughout each day as I go about my normal activities.
I am continually communicating with God and seeking to hear from Him in my daily routine and the regular rhythms of life. Though I don’t hear God’s voice audibly, He speaks to me all the time, as long as I give Him the opportunity to do so. The more intentional I am, the more I am able to hear from Him. And the more I desire to know Him, the more He reveals Himself to me. It’s all about relationship.
God wants a relationship with each of us. As we grow closer to Him, we grow more into His likeness. And as I heard someone recently say, when we grow, we glow.
The more time we spend with God, the more we come to know Him. And the more He fills us with His love, grace, truth, goodness, and light. The light of His glory. That’s what makes us radiant. So radiant that we glow to those around us.
The more we know Him, the more we glow of Him. The more others can see Him. And the more others can come to know Him too.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy…” Isaiah 60:1-5 (NIV)
