By Lisa S. Tarno

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he didn’t know that the skin of his face glowed [had become radiant] [shining with a unique radiance] because he had been speaking with God.” Exodus 34:29 NLT, AMP & MSG translations

I will lead with the very fact that spending time with God, in worship, prayer, studying His Word not only illuminates our hearts and minds but shines out of our very countenance! This is the best beauty secret revealed. It doesn’t cost a thing except for our time. There is no fear of it running out of supply! No one can duplicate its effectiveness with any other thing. There are no shipping and handling costs as it is FREELY GIVEN and all ours but for the taking! I will circle back and touch on this again.

In my studying God’s Word: The Bible today, I was reading about how we need to praise Him because He is the Light of the World! I was reading Isaiah 45:3  which talks about treasures hidden in darkness. What this means is there will be times in our lives when the heaviness of the world and its troubles will make it seem like we are stumbling around in darkness. But, the hope is even though it SEEMS dark, the Bible instructs us that Jesus is the Light of the World…when we reach out for Him we will find Him waiting for us. “His light, which is a reflection of His glory, is who He is. His light is already there. We have to open our eyes and hearts to see it” ~Stormie Omartian  The treasures we find in dark times, if we turn to God, are His presence and the wisdom and comfort we receive.

In Psalm 23:4 it says in the AMP translation, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me…” I offer up to you to consider that even in this verbiage it says, “the shadow of death”, and to realize that in order to even have a shadow there needs to be the presence of LIGHT! Let that reality sink in! What does that mean for us? It means that even when things in this life looks so bleak, so dark and we feel like we are free falling into the darkest times of our lives… He is there! There is HOPE! 

The book that I love and am reading again and teaching from is Stormie Omartian’s “The Prayer That Changes Everything: The Hidden Power Of Praising God” I have been using this book as a resource for over 25 years of my spiritual journey. It is excellent! In this chapter talking about how He is the light of the world, she encourages us that praising God, even in our darkest times, increases our capacity to reflect His light. She goes on to say that when we reach out to God in our dark times of life that we are always going to find His hand waiting for us! But often we don’t do this…we look for other sources to soothe or cope, or we fake it until we make it. Anything but God as the source will come up short. Any comfort we find outside of Him doesn’t last. 

I’m going to share an excerpted prayer out of this chapter of her book that will change your life.

When bad things happen in your life and you are feeling lost and depressed, pray this INSTEAD:

“[I will] praise You Lord. I worship You in the midst of this situation. I know that You are the Light of the World who lives in me, and Your light can never be put out. I know that Your are with me now, and You will shine Your light on this situation. Your glory is over heaven and earth and it’s over my life today.”~ Stormie Omartian

And if He currently does not live in you, pray this prayer: “God, I need you. This is all new stuff to me but reveal truth to my heart. Thank you for sending Jesus, your Son, to die for me. Living my life opposed to Your ways is called sin (Romans 3:23) and the price for living a sinful life is eternal death  (Romans 6:23) but Jesus paid that debt on the cross for me. (John 3:16) My sins are completely forgiven and by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as my Lord and Savior I am eternally saved. (Romans 8:1-2) I believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:6) (Acts 4:12) I receive this gift of salvation, I receive Your love and life and invite you to live in me today by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen”

 The best beauty secret is God shining through us in this life. Our lives should beg the question! What’s the question? In 1 Peter 3:15 it says, “…and if someone asks you about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” Jesus is our hope!!! How is it possible to have peace in the middle of a storm in your life? As a Jesus follower you learn how…(Phil 4:6-7) How can you have peace when there’s not enough money to make ends meet? (Phil 4:19) Look these verses up and more! Once you receive Jesus, you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit who now gives you eyes to read the Bible and actually understand it!

I leave you with one of my favorite verses that I pray over you: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLT May your life reflect his love and glory! May your beauty come from time spent with Him!