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“But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone.” Exodus 34:34-35a

I am privileged to have just returned from vacation. My husband and I celebrated our 30^th wedding anniversary by going on a Caribbean cruise. Not gonna lie, it was amazing to not think for six whole days. No deadlines, no videoconference calls, no screens. We met some neat people, ate way too much…and we got to witness—twice!—whales breaching, spouting, and kicking. In the Caribbean Sea. It was amazing. I also was able to lay in the warm sun and read. A lot. And although I wore sunscreen, as well as spending a lot of time in the shade, my olive-tone skin got pretty tan. You could say that my tanned face was glowing from all that sunshine.

Sadly, my vacation ended, and back to work I went the very next day—back to deadlines, video calls, and multiple screens. In the week since I’ve been home, I’ve not spent any time with my face to the sun…so, that facial glow is quickly fading. Obviously, if I hit the beaches here in my town—or even a neighbor’s pool or my own backyard—face to the sun…well, my skin would stay tan, and I’d keep that glow!

If you’re familiar with the book of Exodus and the Israelites’ journey through the desert to the Promised Land, the scenario above is probably striking some “ah-ha” chords within your spirit. When God called Moses up Mount Sinai to speak with Him, something very interesting happened to the skin of Moses’ face: it glowed (Exodus 34:29-35). Moses didn’t even know it until others pointed it out to him. See, being in the Lord’s presence gave Moses his shining glow—his face was reflecting the very glory of God. Interestingly, though, as Moses was off the mountain, this facial glory-reflection faded (2 Corinthians 3:13). Then, when he went again before the Lord to speak with Him, he’d “glow up” again and return reflecting the very glory of the One he spent time with.

Oh friend, do you see the connection? Is your heart crying out? When we spend time with our face to the Son, we get to soak Him in! Through prayer, singing praises, gathering for worship, and reading the Bible, it’s like pointing your face up to the sun and soaking in the warm rays. So, as we walk through this world, we get to reflect His very glory. We get to shine this light to others, so they may see our life and glorify God (Matthew 5:16).

The Apostle Paul takes the meaning of Moses’ glowing face even further in his letter to the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 3:7-18), when he compares what the Israelites had in the Law to what we have through Jesus. See, they had “engraved letters of stones” for glory…we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Moses had to walk away from the Lord, but the Lord remains with us—and we have access to the very throne room of God through Jesus. Moses wore a veil to prevent his people from seeing the glow fade…Christ has removed our veil so that as we walk surrendered to Him, we’re being transformed into His image, from glory to glory.

Beloved, stay in the Lord’s presence and keep your shine! Spend time with Him, so you can “glow up” and reflect His glory to this ever-darkening world.

“Lord, thank You for unveiling my eyes and heart to the Truth of Jesus. Continue to transform me to be more like You—and constantly reflect your glory to others without fading.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life