How to be a Radiant Woman - Girlfriends in God

August 17, 2016
How to be a Radiant Woman
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Friend to Friend

The Bible is filled with men and women who had an intimate personal relationship with God. Enoch walked with God and then God just snatched him up to heaven…“and he was no more,” (Genesis 5:24). David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” (Acts 13:22). But Moses…he was God’s friend.

What did Moses want more than anything? He wanted to see God’s glory.

“And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’”

Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (Exodus 33:19-23).

God knew that no man could look upon His full glory and live. It is more than our human limitations can bear. Just a glimpse of God’s glory caused Moses’ face to have such a radiant afterglow that the people in the valley below trembled at the sight—and that was from but a glimpse! Moses placed a veil over his face so that others would not see the radiant glory fade between his visits with God.

Moses visible radiance from being in God’s presence always faded with time. This is not so with the believer who lives and moves and has her being in Christ. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). You and I can share the glory of Jesus Christ and go from one degree of glory to the next! Our lives become brighter and more beautiful as we practice constant communion and sacred union with the Trinity.

The retail market is packed with ways for women to look more beautiful—such as skincare products to give us that special glow. But I don’t know of anything that can make a woman truly radiant more than spending time with God.

Moses ascended the mount and had fellowship with God only a few times during his life. But we can experience God’s presence at all times as we live and move and have our being in Him everyday. What a privilege! What a joy!

We don’t have to climb a mountain, enter a temple or follow a cloud. We have but to breathe in the sweet communion as we abide in Christ, grafted firmly to the Vine. Jesus did more than make a way for you and me to have our relationship with God restored. He made a way for us to go to our home in Heaven.

Until that day when we step into God’s full-faced glory once and for all, He gives us tastes in teaspoons of awe, glimpses into peepholes of beauty, and whispers in low decibels of wonder. Glimpses of glory simply whet your appetite and make you hungry for more of God and anxious for home. Glory moments—deposits of the full inheritance that is yet to come when we share in Christ’s glory for all eternity.

From the day God first breathed into the still lungs of Adam, He had a plan in mind. Paul wrote that God’s “secret purpose framed from the very beginning [is] to bring us to our full glory,” (1 Corinthians 2:7 NEB). Yes, God longs to return us to full glory, and while that will not occur until we enter heaven’s gate, we can catch glimpses of it all around.

This summer, let’s keep our eyes open to spot those moments when God makes His presence known! And as we do, we will become more radiant with each passing day.

Let’s Pray

Lord, I pray that I will be a reflection of Your glory today. Help me to be a woman who radiates Your love, mercy, kindness, and grace. Then when someone asks me my “beauty secret,” let me be quick to tell them about You!

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Think of all the television commercials about fighting the effects of aging.

What does Philippians 3:20-22 tell us about the body we will one day receive?

I’m not sure what that will be like, but we can be sure it will be better than the one we have now!

What does Psalm 34:5 tell you about where true radiance comes from?

More from the Girlfriends

Do you long for something more in your relationship with God? Do you have a “glory ache”—a hunger to experience God’s presence on a daily basis? The good new is that God wants that even more than you do. Right smack dab in the spin of the laundry and the sizzle of the bacon—as you live and more and have your being in Him. This summer, take some time to “be still and know”—to hear His still small voice—to dust for His fingerprints on the pages of your everyday life. My book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More will show you how. It also includes a study guide and free online Bible study videos. And while you’re on my site, check out the Praying Wives app for smart devices.