Afterglow

“And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” Exodus 34:35”

Her ebony face shone with compassion as she looked straight into my eyes and said,

“There is a sadness in your eyes and face but it won’t be there forever. God will restore your joy.”

It was as if she saw the hurt in my heart written on my face. How did this woman I had never met before know I needed what she said? How did she know I was mourning the loss of light that I couldn’t seem to get back? How did she perceive my face had lost its glow from being in the shadow of a wolf in sheep’s clothing who had slowly been suffocating the oxygen from the candle of my life until what once had been a bright flame was barely a flickering light?

Don't get me wrong, it wasn’t that I had stopped loving Jesus or desiring to seek Him but the never ending cycle of demands and confusion put upon me by the man I married left me drained and that drain and strain slowed my growth in my relationship with Jesus because survival was all I had the strength to do. In the months that followed after separating myself and my children away from him, I was filtering through pictures and was disturbed by the ones I saw of myself in the marriage as compared to who I had been. I saw the sadness on my face and the glow all but extinguished and it brought much pain to my heart. It was a hidden pain…or so I thought but God knew differently.

So he sent this perfect stranger, a beautifully bright soul, to sit down across from me over lunch and He used her to speak words of life that seeped down deep into the depths of my soul. Those few simple words breathed hope into me and brought back to remembrance one of my life long prayers. You see, since I was 13 and possibly younger, I would pray that in my life people would see Jesus and the afterglow of His glory resting upon my countenance. I cried out to Him to let His face shine upon me which is why when I had looked at the photos it had broken my heart.

The truth is, Jesus heard those prayers and faithfully answered them for so many years! The shadow of the wolf never really stopped The Son of God, Jesus. It might have obscured my face from His glow for a time but the light of glory forever harbored in Jesus had never flickered or faltered. Jesus had been waiting to rest His face upon me as soon as I was willing to trade my sorrow for His joy.

The truth is, The wolf I thought had stolen the light was thwarted by Jesus who snatched my girls and I out of its jaws. All along Jesus preserved enough embers in my heart to restart the flame of my soul; a fire more sure and fervent than ever before for the heart of God and all His promises and purposes for my life.

From that moment on, the light returned to my face like the slow dawning rays of morning. And like it once had been, people (including strangers!) have begun telling me again “you have this glow about you” and immediately my heart leaps for joy because I know what they are seeing is Jesus!

Today, more than ever, I cherish the afterglow I feel and see when I have read the Bible or have been in prayer. It’s like whenever I talk about Jesus or to Him the whisper of His presence is fanning the ember glow of his glory into a blazing fire in my heart. My face literally shines with the afterglow of His glory!

Has someone tried to snuff the light out of your life? Or have you been doing that to yourself?

You have a choice to draw nigh to Jesus. You have a choice to commune with Him and so invite the blessing and afterglow of His glory to rest upon you.

“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: Numbers 6:24-25”

What do people see when they see you? I hope they see the afterglow of God’s glory shining upon your face and resting over your life.