My husband and I are in Arizona this week. It snowed and the landscape and colors around us have seemed to intensify. We walked along the rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday. Our God is awesome in wonder! There is no qualified way to describe His power and creation. But, so often we focus on only the big picture. Within the large framework of gorgeous rock formations, as I began to look closer at the smaller details around me, I saw these tiny little wonders of beauty: ice crystals looking like glass as they slowly melted. They literally seemed to shine and glimmer as they reflected the sun light! My thoughts? That’s what I want! To shine as God is reflected in my life. For Him. Out of thankfulness. Whether it’s noticed by many or few. I had to look really hard to discover some of the most beautiful and brilliant reflections of light.
So, of course I started asking Rick, my husband, questions about reflection and refraction!! Because that’s what you do when you go places with a geologist/geographer. You learn to appreciate everything around you, even the smallest details of formation
reflection: The phenomenon of a propagating wave (light or sound) being thrown back from a surface; the image of something as reflected by a mirror (or other reflective material); syn. manifestation, mirror image, reflectivity. to reflect: give evidence of certain behavior. syn. shine WordWeb
refraction: The change in direction of a propagating wave (light or sound) when passing from one medium to another; the amount by which a propagating wave is bent. to refract: capable of changing the direction (of a light or sound wave). WordWeb
Consider a rainbow, caused by the refraction of the sun’s light in a drop of water, a symbol world-wide of God’s promises. Picture in your mind the sun’s rays reflecting off water on a leaf or flower or tree. If you look just right at light shining through a water droplet it’s beautiful! The colors and brilliance are nothing less than amazing. Different colors are formed when light bends at different angles. Perhaps you’ve noticed ice crystals as they melt in the warm sunlight, they seem to sparkle almost like they’re dancing, their slow drips form glass-like tear drops that shine like jewels.
When something refracts, it bends. It goes through one object then changes direction when it hits resistance. What we then see, in the case of water and sunlight, is the reflection of light being thrown back, like looking in a mirror. Refraction is caused by bending; reflection is caused by bouncing. This seems like a whole lot of explanation for one small thought I had!
We must be bent in order to shine brilliantly for Christ, for our lives to reflect His goodness. Blessings are promised to us in abundance as we follow His ways.
God promised countless blessings upon the nation of Israel if they listened and obeyed His direction and commands.
De 28:2-14 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the LORD your God. "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways. "The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in His ways. "So all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of you. "And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. "The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. "And the LORD shall make you the head and not the tail, and you only shall be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
No tongue can express nor finite mind conceive the number, greatness, variety, richness, or duration of the blessings which flow from obeying God. Family Bible Notes
In order to follow, we must learn and understand. God gives us countless opportunities to learn, to practice His truths, to prove His faithfulness, to grow in our trust and dependence on Him and His word. These opportunities are called blessings. Do we only see Him in the larger focus or do we recognize His hand in even the tiniest detail?
Consider the air you breathe. Do you have lungs that work? Some don’t. I drink a cup of coffee every morning. Do I need it? No. Do I enjoy it? Yes = a blessing! Did the sun rise? Do I have shoes to put on my feet? A place I call home? It goes on and on, right? Blessings, they are all around me in abundance. What do I do with them? Are they used for Him, reflecting His light and goodness to others, shining for all to see?
Sometimes blessings are easy to recognize and we accept them with pleasure. Sometimes we don’t readily receive difficult circumstances as blessings – especially when bending is part of the process. However, the bending is necessary in molding us to be more like Christ. Sometimes we’re detoured, sometimes our direction is completely changed. But the result is always God’s blessing. I am learning to recognize with greater intensity the beautiful way God causes His children to shine, even after a storm. Appreciation of things we took for granted are suddenly seen as blessings. We so often see this huge, amazing, spectacular picture of God and His gift of salvation towards us but we forget that the journey there is filled with nuances of light and color as God directs us on our walk towards heaven.
Ps 119:135 Make Thy face shine upon Thy servant, and teach me Thy statutes.
Consider. Is God’s light reflected in my life? No matter how difficult the storm proves to be? Am I able to sparkle even as He guides me through circumstances that cause my very world to bend?
Da 12:3 "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Pr 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
“‘The ways of the righteous shine like the light; they go on, and shine until the day be perfected.’– The path of the just or righteous is that way in which a believer walks, from the time when he begins to seek the Lord to the close of his days. A glimmering of knowledge at first pervades the darkness of his mind as to spiritual things, and some feeble desires after God and holiness arise in his heart. Thus the day dawns. But frequently these feeble beginnings cannot be distinguished from many specious appearances, which afterwards vanish; when, however, they arise from divine life communicated to the soul, the glimmering light will increase. Advancing knowledge gradually dispels ignorance and error; peace and comfort are obtained, and established on a firm base, and holy affections and dispositions ripen into fruits and habits. Thus this light whines progressively, not wasting as that of a taper, or declining as that of the setting sun; but increasing as that of the morning, until perfected in the knowledge, holiness, and felicity of heaven. This light comes from Christ at the first, and is augmented, and will be perfected by the knowledge of him: and the way in which he directs the soul, and on which it shines continually, is that of humble faith and obedient love.” Thomas Scott
Shine bright! When the heat is turned up, reflect His truths. When you feel like you’re being bent by a blacksmith, being hammered by circumstances, look for the blessings and know that tear drops can glisten with God’s promise of hope.
Be encouraged! The tiniest ice crystal can shimmer and sparkle as it reflects light.
We are Blessed!
