encouragement and wisdom for the journey : a devotional
Shine On
Did you know that your life can “shine?” Every time
you speak words of encouragement to someone, you
are shining a light into their life. Every time you give a
hug, you shine love on that person. When you serve
others or offer to help them out, your life “shines.”
Then there are the times when you feel like you are
wandering in the darkness of sorrow or pain yourself.
It’s harder to shine during those times, but with God’s
help you can shine in a different way as you trust him
through the hard times and the challenging days. The
music of this session will encourage you to Shine On
— both in the joy-filled times and the dark times. It will
remind you that God is always shining the light of his
love on you. He loves you with an everlasting love that
shines in the darkness!
Shine On!
Jeannie Blocher
President, Body & Soul Fitness
Hillsong Y&F
Capital Kings
Newport
TobyMac
Matthew West
Jason Gray
V. Rose feat. KJ 52
Building 429
Blanca
Beckah Shae
Beckah Shae
TobyMac
Matthew West
Josh Wilson
Capital Kings
Aaron Shust
Group 1 Crew
Dan Bremnes
Natalie Grant
Kari Jobe
Rend Collective
Mercy Me
Blanca
Rend Collective
Songs that Inspi r ed
th is Devoti onal
Brighter
Fireblazin’
Echo
Like a Match
World Changer
Glow in the Dark
Turn Up Your Light
Go
Today
Jericho
I’ll be Alright
Lift You Up
Grace Wins
That Was Then, This is Now
Satellites
God of Brilliant Lights
Psalm 23+
Where the Light Is
Be One
Stars in the Sky
You Will Never Run
Welcome to the New
Get Up
Burn Like a Star
Let’s encourage one another to Shine On!
Sometimes it’s easy to slip into discouragement. We don’t mean
to, but we find ourselves there. It’s often hard to fight back when
darkness closes in. It’s tempting to give up. So let’s determine to
cheer each other on with the message of this session! No matter
what— let’s shine on! In the book of Daniel it says this: “Those
who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and
those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and
ever.”1 Let’s be wise. Let’s be people of encouragement and fight
the discouragement of the world. And let’s always remember
that our “light source” is God — the one who shines the brightest
of all! The song Brighter says this: “Let the music play; hear us
praise your name. See the darkness fade; dance the night away.
We have found our place in the Savior’s grace. Dance the night
away!”2 Let’s dance and shine. Let’s be wise and lift each other
up by choosing a life that shines!
Daniel 12:3
1
2
“Brighter” by Hillsong
Shine the Power of Your Presence
Can you name someone who has encouraged you when you
desperately needed it? What did they say? What did they
do? A friend was once describing a time when she received
encouragement and commented: “it was simply the power of your
presence.” Jesus understood that power, and He compassionately
promised his best friends that after he left this earth and
ascended into heaven they would not be alone. God would be with
them forever.1 That same promise Jesus made to his friends over
2,000 years ago he makes to you, right now, this very day. What
an important truth to think about and remind each other of when
we are sad, stressed or discouraged. He will always shine into your
life. He will not leave you... he will not forsake you.
How can you shine? You can make a life-altering difference in
someone else’s life by the power of your presence. You may be
the person God will use to assure them of his presence. Is there
someone who needs your presence today? Don’t be afraid! Go
ahead and go, and remember that God goes with you.
Heb. 13:5b, 6 ...because God has said, “Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence; “The Lord is
my helper; I will not be afraid.”
John 14:16
1
Shine When Life is Dark
Glow in the Dark! by Jason Gray is an amazing song— the title brings
to mind light-sticks and glow bracelets, but it means much more
than that. He says:“Sometimes the world feels like a mess, full of
drama, full of stress, and life puts a fist right in your ribs.You can
hide if you choose to and no one would even blame you, or you can
let them see how you deal with it.That even in the darkest place
His love can make you radiate. Doesn’t matter how deep, how dark
the night is, keep hoping, keep on shining, and they’ll see His light
burning in your heart. And if the road gets rough, just keep your
head up. Let the world see what you’re made of-- that His love’s alive
in your deepest parts. Like a flame, like a burning star, you can
shine right where you are. He made you to glow in the dark.” Let’s
follow this advice and let the world see how we deal with dark times,
challenges, pain, and sorrow. Even as we struggle through things,
we can glow for God as we hold fast to trust him, as we hope when
things seem hopeless, as we pray and wait for answers. Hold your
spiritual light-stick high and put on those divine glow bracelets as you
lift your hands and your heart to God who will guide you through the
dark. You will glow brightly.
2 Cor 4:6 - For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Shine and Trust
If your desire is to shine brightly even during your darkest times
you must have a solid grip on trust. Specifically, trust in the
goodness and power of a God who cares deeply about your
well-being. Somehow he will work and bring good to you out of
your suffering.1 Picture in your mind a potter working with a
broken and cracked piece of clay. “The cracks and chips and
broken pieces disappeared as the clay became soft and pliable
to the Potter’s touch. He firmly applied pressure on some areas,
touched lightly on other areas, added more clay to a specific spot
that needed filling, and removed clay that hindered the shape
that would make it useful for His ultimate purpose… Under His
skilled, gentle hands, the once-ugly clay had been transformed
into a vessel that had shape and purpose.”2 Now imagine yourself
as that piece of clay. God is at work molding you into a beautiful
vessel. As he walks with you through your difficult days he gives
you the ability to shine with a beauty gained only by trusting him.
Trust your Potter; he knows exactly what is going on, his eyes are
ever upon you. “God uses suffering to transform ordinary, dustclay people into...vessels that are strong in faith...vessels that
are fit for His use...vessels that display His glory to the watching
world.”2
Ps. 37:6a,7,39 - He will make your righteousness shine like
the dawn…be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him
…the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is
their stronghold in time of trouble.
Romans 8:28
1
2
Anne Graham Lotz - Why? Pg.7-9
Shine when Life is Joyful
“You’ve got today to forgive, and to live, let the light
shine in. To begin, start again, you’ve got today. Turn
the page, make a change, love will find a way. Don’t
hesitate. You’ve got today.”1 Don’t miss the joy! Enjoy
today and let the light shine in! Live, forgive, and
make a change if you need to. Plan your schedule
wisely so that you find joy in the preparation for special
joy-filled events. And when unplanned moments of joy
and spontaneous fun pop into your day— immediately
focus on them— drop everything else, put away the
to-do list and simply experience the joy! And don’t
miss the shining moments of looking back on your
joy-memories! Keep photos around your house that
will make you smile and shine every time you look at
them. Savor the joy-times when you naturally shine
without thinking about it, and don’t forget them when
the darkness creeps back in.
Isaiah 60:1 - Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Today by Blanca
1
Shine with Complete Joy
When you wake up in the morning, what motivates you to hop out of
bed? Perhaps it is the sound of an infant’s cry. Or maybe the smell of
that freshly-brewed java arouses your senses. Whatever your reasons
for getting out of bed, if joy is to be a part of your day, you need to
start with a thankful heart. Your heart, finely tuned to expressing
gratitude, will produce a flowing fountain of joy. We must “learn how
to be thankful-whether empty or full. Gratitude in the midst of death and
divorce and debt... that’s the language [we]’ve got to learn to speakbecause that’s the kind of life [we’re] living”1
Did you know that Jesus wants you to experience joy, complete
joy?2 We could never experience that if it was dependent on our
circumstances. Thank God it isn’t! Someone once said that JOY
is Jesus Overwhelming You. When we are overwhelmed by him
our perspective on our circumstances will change. When we draw
near to him we will have joy. Tomorrow morning when you wake up,
immediately thank God for your new day. Thank him that he will be
present with you every second, and that nothing will separate you from
his amazing love. Then begin journaling about what you are thankful for.
Journal about seemingly small things like the jelly on your toast, and
about huge things like the love Jesus has for you. Determine to get out
of bed on the grateful side. It’s the side that gives you the unmistakable
glow of joy which shines forth from the depths of your grateful heart.
Acts 2:28 - You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill
me with joy in your presence.
Ann Voskamp - One Thousand Gifts pg.47
1
2
John 15:11
Shine the Light of Love
“You and me, we gotta love, holding nothing back. You and
me, we gotta love, strike it up like a match, burnin’ for the
world to see… oh, if it’s real we gotta show it. Oh, ‘cause if
it’s not, they sure gonna know it.”1 The world needs love,
Christ’s love, shining out through each one of us. We
have the opportunity to show God’s genuine love. Not a
“pretend” love, not a half-hearted love—rather a real, notholding-back, burning from the heart love that reaches out
to care for others with selfless wholeheartedness. Can you
love like that? When you jump in for a cause, do you jump
in wholeheartedly? When you give of yourself, do you give
selflessly? We each need to examine our own heart and
strike a match personally to light up the genuine love we
have for others. Believe me, if it’s not real—they will know it,
as this song says!
John 13:34,35 - A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if
you love one another. ”Like a Match” by TobyMac
1
Shine with God’s love
The giving and receiving of love is a splendid thing. Jesus placed high
value on love. He said that the most important commandment is
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind and with all your strength. The second commandment is
to “love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment
greater than these.”1 “The tendency of our human nature—at its
best—is to reverse the order and make the second command first
and the first command second. It seems perfectly reasonable but, in
the exchange of places, we choke the supply and toss the filter. To
love God more is never to love people less. It’s to love people best.
Divine love... makes you capable of loving someone you can’t, and
appreciating someone you don’t...2 It gives you the ability to shine
God’s love into the dark hurting places in another’s life. “...divine
affection... does not subtract from other loves. It supplies them. It
gives them their proper dignity and their rightful place. When God
issued the command for the highest love of human hearts to be
directed solely to Him, it wasn’t to hoard it all for himself. He meant
to sanctify it and multiply it. Our affection for Him leaps straight up
like a fountain to be filtered by his fingers then spilled clean on those
around us.”2 Shine, beloved one, shine with God’s love.
I John 4:7,19 - Dear friends, let us love one another, for love
comes from God...we love because he first loved us.
Mark 12:29-31 (Jesus speaking)
1
2
Beth Moore, “Audacious”, pgs. 141-143
God Shines Brighter
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change
like shifting shadows.”1 What a comfort to know that our
unchanging God is always shining down over us. He doesn’t
change when all the shadows are shifting around us. LED
lights are brighter than incandescent ones. Light bulbs come
in different wattages. Some days the sun seems brighter than
others when there is haze or cloud cover. Even our personal
light “dims” sometimes when we are struggling with things.
But God’s light always shines brightly. He is the Father of
the heavenly lights. Aaron Shust sings “The God of brilliant
lights is shining down over us, breaking through the darkness,
covering all the earth. Oh, his love is like an ocean, Oh, forever
overflowing. The God of brilliant lights is shining over us.”2 Be
assured that God’s light will shine on you and through you.
Seek him, pray, search his word, the Bible, for encouraging
truths and promises that will help you shine—and above all,
know that God’s light will never grow dim. He will always shine
brighter than all the stars in the sky.
James 1:17
1
2
”God of Brilliant Lights” by Aaron Shust
Brighter than the Stars in the Sky
At a pivotal time in her life Beth Moore was prompted by another author
to ask herself two questions: What is your dream? What is your vision
for the future? She pondered the questions and realized: “I wanted more
for women, and that I wanted them to become completely alive. I wanted
them to find out what they were doing here and do it. I wanted them to
tumble headlong into something vastly more influential over their futures
than their pasts. I wanted the same thing for them that I wanted for
myself. Something that would require audacity.”1 Her dream, her vision:
“To see all women come to know and audaciously love Jesus Christ.
Because He’s worth it. Many years into this thing, I haven’t lost interest,
calmed down, or found that a life of fiery faith wasn’t all it was cracked
up to be. As it turns out, Jesus is bigger than I thought, better than He’d
seemed, and more willing and able than I’d believed.” “The Maker of
heaven and earth embedded deep within the human psyche, an innate
suspicion that He is out there. ...it whispers in the quiet when we’re all
alone and squirms into the stillness when we’ve got no place to go. We
are dying to find someone worthy of our unabashed, wholly unguarded
trust.”1 Jesus is that one! He shines brighter than the stars that he
spoke into existence. Keep looking for him! If you only knew what he has
for you, you would never give up.
Ps. 105:4 - Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Heb. 11:6b - ...he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
1
Beth Moore, “Audacious”, pgs 6-7,15
Are you feeling like your light is growing a little dim? Maybe it’s
even been snuffed out and you’re feeling surrounded by darkness.
There is good news! The God of brilliant lights is ready to light your
life so you can shine again. From the beginning of time God has
been a light in the darkness. He knows that your heart is longing for
light. It doesn’t matter if you have done something wrong that has
surrounded you with darkness. God forgives. He longs to fill your
world with light if you admit you have made mistakes and ask for help.
God loves you and he has a plan for your life. He wants to fill your life
with light and meaning, giving you the gift of eternal life. God offers you
grace and mercy— the opportunity to step out of the darkness and
make a brand new start, but you have to make a decision.
God sent his son Jesus to be the light of the world. To be the
light of your world! He brought healing and forgiveness to those he
touched personally and he offers healing and forgiveness to you. He
died for you, in your place. But you must reach for his light.
Take a step of faith to ask God to take control of your life and allow
him to guide you out of the darkness into the light. Admit your faults
and mistakes— things that have brought darkness into your life and
stolen away the light. Accept God’s grace and forgiveness. He offers
this grace to you in a supernatural way. He does not ask you to earn
it. He knows you don’t deserve it; he offers it as a free gift.
You can be assured of this supernatural grace if you put your faith in
God and allow him to take control of your life. He loves you so much
that he sent his son to earth to cover your mistakes and open the
door to everlasting life. God’s son Jesus bridges the gap between
you and God. Choose, by faith, to believe that Jesus is the only way
to ensure your eternal life of true freedom in heaven. Once you
have made this decision, your new life will start and you will begin to
experience the faithfulness of God, even in dark times.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by
works, so that no one can boast.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.”
The following is a suggested prayer:
Dear God, I have been living in darkness and I long for your light. I
am taking the step of faith to believe in you. I open the door of my
heart and accept you as my Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins
and giving me life that is everlasting. Take control of my life. Make
me the person you want me to be. Thank you for your grace and
your love.
“For God who said, “Let light shine out
of darkness,” made his light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
Devotionals written by:
Jeannie Blocher &
Anne Walchshauser
Art design by:
Rebecca Gilbert
JoyArtandDesign.com
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