Shining Light

By: Jenifer Metzger

In the same way, let your light

shine before others, so that they

may see your good works and give

glory to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

We all know the verse. We know we are supposed to let our light shine before others. But let's be completely transparent for a minute. Sometimes it is hard.

When we are dealing with a toddler tantrum, when we are arguing with a disrespectful teen, when you and your spouse haven't been seeing eye to eye, when the bills are piling up and money is short, when that impossible co-worker is grating on your nerves, when the traffic isn't moving and you are already late, or when the neighbor is mowing the lawn at the crack of dawn on your only day to sleep in. In these moments are light tends to fade as anger, frustration, and other negative emotions seep in.

But the thing we need to remember is that the Bible doesn't give fine print. It doesn't excuse us from letting our light shine on the difficult days. It doesn't say let your light shine except when the waitress is rude and gets your order wrong. It simply says to let your light shine before others. This is how they will see the Father in heaven.

So how do we let our light shine in the hard moments?

Breathe. Take a deep breath. It may sound cliché or silly, but when we pause and take a deep breathe, we are giving our mind and body a little reset. When I am angry or stressed, it almost feels like I am subconsciously holding my breathe. Take a deep breath feels so good.  

Say a quick prayer. After you take a deep breath, say a quick prayer asking God to give you what you need in that moment. He sees you and knows exactly what you are facing, so let Him give you what you need.

Take a time out. When my husband and I were younger and would have a disagreement, he would often leave the house for a little bit. I hated it. However, the time out always helped us to calm down individually. This can be applied to most situations.

Look at the situation from the other side. Ask yourself how the other person is seeing the situation. If your toddler is throwing a tantrum, could it be he is tired and can't communicate that to you? Is the troublesome co-worker dealing with a personal crisis and unintentionally taking it out on you? Or maybe after looking through the other side, you are the one in the wrong and need to rectify the situation.

Go to the Word. The Bible is our life manual. It has everything we need. Open the Word of God and read. Even if you can only read a verse or two, do it. A good place to go is the concordance in the back of your Bible or the search bar if you are using a Bible app. Search the situation you are dealing with and find a verse to help.

Pray. Spend time in prayer. When we neglect communication with our spouse, it negatively affects our marriage. When we neglect communication with our boss or employee or co-worker, it can negatively affect our job. And when we neglect to keep communication with God open, it can negatively affect how we see and handle situations. Pray throughout the day and ask God to walk with you, to lead you, and to guide you in all you say and do.

Respond instead of react. Instead of having a quick reaction to the hard situations, do all of the things above -breathe, say a quick prayer, take a time out, go to the Word, and pray- and then respond in a way that will bring glory to the Lord and allow your light to shine brightly so that all may see and glorify the Father in heaven.

It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.