"Made To Shine"

"Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me they statutes." (Psalms 119:135)

  As many of you might know, there are some things within my life that might otherwise cause me to be justified in feeling sad or depressed; there are very few people that I know who wakeup each day to the same situation that I find myself living. Not that I am complaining, because this is not something I consider to be a burden, but it is more a privilege and an honor to love and care for my wife. There are some that run the race who are less fortunate than others, and then there are those that run with restrictions that cause them to feel fortunate to run at all. Hopefully, I pray, I will be not only be an example of one that is less fortunate who runs, but that I will count it all joy that I am fortunate to run at all! This is that part of the race where there is an evaluation of not only who and what we are, but why it is that we run to win, even if winning is something way outside of our abilities. Besides, this is not a race against one another; if one of us might fall or stumble, those of us nearby must stop running to assist them to get back in the race. It might not make sense to everyone who is reading this, but it is a requirement of each and every one of us, that we love one another as ourselves. What exactly does it mean to have God's face to shine upon us? Do you think it means that He is blessing us and looking down upon us? or do you think that it means that you are shinning with the face of God that others might feel the love you know so well? If there is one thing I count any and every circumstance to do in me, it is that people will see God's love shining through me, and will not see me walking in my flesh. This is made possible by my faith and trust in God; not only for the end result, but for every single circumstance or trial along the way, that He is smiling down upon me, because He loves me: Oh how He loves me! Matthew Henry puts it to mean this: "Let me be accepted of thee, and let me know that I am so. Comfort me with the light of thy countenance in every cloudy and dark day. If the world frown upon me, yet do thou smile." This is how the less fortunate runner, runs, and feels fortunate to run! Win or lose, it just feels good to run the race...

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Corinthians 3:2-6) KJV