You may go through seasons where people discount and overlook you. It’s not going to be forever because God is going to arise over you and cause you to shine forth His glory. He knows how to illuminate you to shine forth. The scripture says, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. And deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2
We all go through situations sometimes that seem too much for us. Dealing with an illness, or an expectation that looks out of reach. It’s easy to get discouraged and feel disadvantaged. That’s the way the Israelites felt. They were in the desert, some two million people trying to get to the promised land. They were grateful that they were no longer slaves, but they weren’t prepared to travel through the desert.
They didn’t have weapons and equipment to protect themselves. They didn’t have food and supplies to sustain them. At one point they said, “Moses, why would you even bring us out here to die?” But in Numbers 6:22-26, God told Moses to have the priests make this declaration over the people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”
They were focused on the opposition and what they didn’t have. But Moses said, “You need to have a new perspective. You are not at a disadvantage. God is rising over you and causing His face to shine upon you. His face represents His power, His favour, and His protection. You may think, “How can I make it through this challenging situation?” Well, on your own, you can’t. The good news is you are not on your own. God’s face is shining on you, empowering you and enabling you. There is a supernatural force working in your life.
When you look at your dreams, the odds may be against you. You don’t have the connections, the resources, the funding. By yourself, it’s not possible. But you have to know that you have a secret force, something that can’t be explained, causing you to succeed, to go beyond where you are qualified. What is that? Good luck! No. That’s God’s face shining on you, causing you to stand out, propelling you into your purpose.
Allow me to light up this truth in your spirit. The Lord is your source. The Most High God is shining on you. He is making you radiant. He is showing your brilliance. He is causing you to stand out, to achieve, to overcome. Our main scripture says, “Arise and shine, for your light has come.” It doesn’t say one day God is going to shine on you or your light is coming. It says your light has come because God is shining His face on you!
God knows how to cause you to radiate so brightly that people notice. You don’t have to convince them. They will see the favour, the healing, and the creativity. You are reflecting the goodness of God. Jesus said, “Of my own self, I can do nothing.” (John 5:30) He is the Son of God. He has all the power. He was saying, in effect, “I’m reflecting the goodness of my Father. I’m empowered through His favour and through His purpose.”
In those challenging times, when you don’t see a way, you have to look up by faith. Imagine God’s face shining on you, causing you to attract favour and causing you to go where no one in your family has gone. In Psalm 80, the psalmist was in all kinds of trouble, facing opposition and bigger enemies. He didn’t complain or get discouraged.
He said in verse 2, “God, stir up Your strength, and come and save us!” Verse 3: Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved. In verse 6, “God, our enemies are laughing at us.” They look at us with scorn, but God, may your face shine down on us.” Verse 12: “Our walls are broken down. Our enemies are attacking us, but oh God, let your face shine on us.”
Three times in this short chapter, they requested God’s face to shine on them. They were saying, in effect, “We look like we are at a disadvantage, but we know a secret that can rescue us; that’s God’s face shining on us, protecting us, favouring us, and sustaining us.”
And that opposition you are facing can’t take you out. That sickness can’t stop your purpose. That bad opposition didn’t cancel your destiny. It doesn’t have that much power. The Most High God is in control of your life. His face is His favour. His face is the power to endure with a good attitude. His face is supernatural healing, promotion, and things that may not make sense.
That wasn’t our own ability. That was God’s face shining on us. You may not be able to see it physically, but you need to imagine by faith: God’s face is shining on you. His face is His glory, causing you to stand out and giving you influence and authority to fulfil your purpose. He is the one who gives the favour, the opportunity, and the strength to endure. Arise and shine because your light has come!
SHINING EFFORTLESSLY
Think about the moon. We look up at night, and it’s so beautiful and glowing. This big white ball shines so brightly, but what’s interesting is that the moon has no light of its own. Not a single ray of light comes from the moon itself. All of its beauty, all of its radiance, is simply a reflection of the sun.
Without the sun, the moon wouldn’t be visible. We would never see it, just a big dark object in the sky. But when the sun shines on it, the moon becomes illuminated and takes on prominence. People all over the world enjoy its beauty… The scripture says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Put your gaze on Jesus, and you will reflect the light and glory of Jesus. Just as the moon doesn’t shine on its own, that’s the way it is with us. We don’t shine in our own strength. We don’t have enough talent or experience to accomplish our God-given purpose by ourselves. If we try to do it on our own, we get frustrated, trying to make people like us or trying to force opportunities.
But when you understand that God’s face is shining on you, arising over you, then you can live from a place of rest, knowing that it’s not up to you. You are reflecting the glory of God. When you stay in faith, you will reflect His favour, reflect His goodness. That means He will open doors you could have never opened. He will promote you when you aren’t next in line. He will heal you when the report says you are not going to get well.
See, the moon never worries. Imagine the moon thinking, “Maybe I’m not going to shine today. I don’t have any light on my own. What if I’m not visible?” No, the moon just does what it was purposed to do, and the sun brings the illumination. The sun shines and lights up the moon. The moon is just a good reflector.
But the moon could say, “I need to stir up some massive lights to shine.” No, the moon knows it has a source. It doesn’t have to manufacture all this prominence and visibility. The sun is up there. In the same way, we don’t have to manufacture promotion, favour, or people liking us. Be still and know that He is your source. His face is shining on you, and He is rising over you. Quit trying to create all the light; your light has come; just reflect His goodness.Â
God knows how to bring prominence. He knows how to give you the ability, open doors, and cause things to fall into place. That’s what the scripture says: It’s not by our might or by our power, but by Your Spirit. (Zachariah 4:6) It’s His face shining on you, arising over you and causing you to accomplish your purpose.
Now, don’t talk yourself out of it; don’t focus on what you don’t have or what you didn’t get or how you feel unsatisfied about things around you. The moon doesn’t have any light, not one bulb, not one generator or one power plant. Yet it shines day after day, year after year. Why? Because the sun is its source. It’s not dependent just on what it has.
The principle is that you can’t sit around discouraged, dwelling on what didn’t work out, thinking it’s never going to change. You have to arise. That means get your passion back. Get your dreams back. Start expecting God’s favour. This is not something you have to work for or try to make it happen. Just keep God in the first place of your life or anything about you, and you will reflect His glory and His goodness.
When the task seems too big, God shines the favour, causing you to stand out and to excel. And again, you don’t have to make all this happen by striving and straining. Just be a good reflector. Keep God in the first place. Honour Him with your life, and you will be like the moon. Even though you don’t have any light of your own, you will reflect God’s goodness, God’s favour, God’s abundance, and everything God has created you to be!
I decree and declare that the Lord is arising over you, shining His face on you, increasing your favour, increasing your breakthroughs, giving you greater prominence, influence, healing, abundance, and the fullness of your destiny in Jesus’ name.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace.
