One Word for 2015: Shine

I knew “The Star” was somewhere in my future and as I do with most new concepts, I resisted it at first. I even told God, “Please do not make me a star. I don’t want to be a star.”

Why the Word “Shine”?

And now God gives me the word “shine” for 2015. I am more comfortable thinking this word means I will shine for Jesus. I will lift up others so they can shine. I will shine so others can find Jesus. I believe all of those are part of the meaning of “shine.”

I thought of the verse I memorized as a child. “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”1 I could accept shining if it is God shining through me. As a matter of fact that would be a desire of my heart.2 And I know having the desire filled only comes when I delight in the Lord.

What it Says to Me

This word says to me this is a year that God shines through me, not that I shine. Not that there is anything good in me to shine. It is only by the grace of God that I have shed 250, now 260 pounds.

Where I was and where I am now may make me a star in others’ eyes, but to me it only makes God a star. Without Him I would be dead by now. Doctors told me as much.

Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12. A self-proclaimed boaster, Paul says God gave him a thorn in the flesh, a weakness so he would have to rely on God’s strength and couldn’t think he had done everything by his own effort.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”3

I don’t know what Paul’s weakness or thorn in the flesh was, but I know mine. I am a processed sugar and flour addict. I need God’s strength every day to stay the course and resist foods made with those things. When I want His strength more than I want what I crave, God always delivers.