For us, God girls, we shine when we keep our eyes on Jesus.  Take your eyes off Him and you cease to shine the way He made you to.

This thought stuck in my mind today.

Our world says you can strut your rock star self all day long.  To “shine” is to shine for yourself, they say.

We flip it all upside down. We still shine – our purposeful presence to create change wherever we go. Just not for self. Not for me-myself-and-I.

But how?  How does it look in my everyday, humdrum, mundane repetition?

I’d like a step-by-step formula for this keep-your-eyes-on-Jesus thing.  Like, step 1: “sleep with your Bible under your pillow, and therefore it’s always on your mind.”

But that doesn’t require our hearts.  If shining was a formula we’d leave Jesus behind and focus on a list of do’s and don’ts.

Imagine you’re steering an enormous ship through the ocean, and there’s no land in sight.  The waters are deep and dangerous.  Your compass says you’re going the right way, so you keep your eyes peeled in front of you for shore.

The Bible is our compass, not just a list of rules.  We find a safe path to navigate these murky waters because the Word we look to is solid and truthful. Jesus will lead us safely to shore as we keep our eyes on Him. It’s through our relationship with Him, each day through the flow of life and the mundane, that we grab hold of this truth.  Let me share some truths that have kept me going forward.

Whenever our problem appears bigger than God, our eyes are off Him.

Whenever our image and wardrobe is “not enough”, our eyes are off Him.

Whenever we are “at the end of our rope” with our families, our eyes are off Him.

Whenever we say, “things will only be worse”, our eyes are off our Savior, our Guide.

Whenever were giving of ourselves to love and go bring peace, Jesus shines through.

Focusing on my inability to be a perfect person doesn’t squeeze any more shine out of me. I think what we’re after, essentially, is found here…In…

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control

You can insert a “He is” in front of each one.  Our God is all those qualities and more.  He is shining them through you to the world.  He shines easily through a humble and pure heart.

My friend Phil Wickham once said, “purity equals power”. The power to shine and bring change whenever you go happens in the space of a pure life.

May that be the ultimate desire of our hearts.

-Becca