Radiant With Joy

I was reading Psalms 34 with the boys tonight. We are beginning to memorize portions of Scripture together in our Bible study time, so I was going over this section with them, making sure they understood it, before we begin memorizing it. Verse 5 really struck me, “Those who look to him (the Lord) for help with be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces.”

Radiant with Joy! What a poetic thought. One of the kids wanted to know what radiant meant, and that got me to thinking about all that this simple phrase implies. The dictionary defines radiant as, “sending out light; shining or glowing brightly.” If I am radiant with joy it would follow that I exude joy. I shine or glow with joy! When I look to the Lord for help, a by product of that trust, is radiant joy. Radiant joy is not the kind of joy that I can keep to myself…it spills out of me, and brings glory to God.

No shadow of shame…that too is a beautifully poetic statement. When my hope is in God, I am not only radiant with joy, but also free of shame–which in my situation is a great consolation. But I have to wonder, why no shadow of shame? What about joyful trust, preserves me from shame?  A parallel passage to this verse e from the “book of joy”, Paul’s letter to the Philippians, offers an answer to that question. Paul said in chapter one that no matter what happened he was rejoicing that God’s Word was being proclaimed. He was looking to God for help and finding himself radiant with joy! Furthermore, Paul added, that, “in nothing I shall be ashamed…but that in all things Christ will be magnified in my body!” (vs. 20) The opposite of being ashamed according to our standard definition would be maintaining one’s pride, or dignity.  Thus I might be tempted to think that as I hope in God I will maintain my dignity. But a biblical contrast is made between being ashamed and Christ being magnified in me. As a believer, the opposite of being ashamed, is being a vessel for Christ’s glory to radiate from, and that is exactly what I become when I joyfully trust Him. No shadow of shame….but rather radiant joy.

People of Influence

It is a natural tendency  to want to influence others, to make a difference, to leave a legacy. When we become believers, the Spirit works in our lives giving us the desire to influence others for His glory.   As we find our joy in Him, we are compelled to direct others to our Source of joy.    This is a healthy desire, but sometimes the goal of glorifying God can get lost in the effort. For me, this happens when I begin to concentrate on the influence rather than on my relationship with God. When I focus on making a difference, I get sidetracked. But Jesus said, “He who believes in me, out of Him will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) As I live a life that shows I believe Him, rivers of living water flow from me. it is not something I need “manage”. It is a by-product of believing Him.

Oswald Chambers suggests, “If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness that is characteristic of the touch of Jesus.” When I think back over my life and  spiritual journey, many people stand out as great  influences. I wonder how many of them are even aware of their impact in my life, because like Chambers implies, they were conscious primarily of Christ. Of course, I don’t mean they weren’t purposeful in their life. On the contrary their purpose was wholly in following Christ, and in doing that, they modeled for me a life of holy pursuit.

My grandmother is one of those people. Just a few years away from retirement, she and my gramps sold their farm, gave most of the money away to struggling missionaries, left everything familiar and moved to a foreign country to serve as missionaries for twenty years. Their friends, even church friends, thought they were crazy. Grams has often told me a story about one Christian lady asking her, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? So close to retirement? ” Grams was so convinced that Jesus is worth obeying, even when His calling seems absurd, that she brushed off these inquiries.  She has lived in such a way that shows Jesus can always be trusted; through Him is the greatest Joy; an He is truly the greatest Treasure of life. And she taught me, simply by allowing rivers of His living water to flow out of her.