Look and be Radiant - Bakht Singh
In the year 1947 a ship came to Southampton carrying about 1,530 soldiers returning home from a battlefield. When the ship arrived many friends and relatives had come to the harbor to receive their loved ones. A young girl also had come to meet her fiancé who had been separated since the beginning of a war. War or no war, no one could change their hearts and they remained faithful to each other. There she was going up and down the dock, looking this way and that, searching eagerly. But all the men were alike; they all wore the same kind of uniform. Would she be able to recognize her young man in such a large crowd? As the soldiers saw her walking to and fro on the dock they began to mock. One said to her, “Your young man has been left at Port said”. Another said, “I saw him at Aden, I don’t know where he is now.” Yet another said, “I saw him at Cairo. Perhaps he is still there.” She took no notice of what they said. Her young man had written to her and so she knew he must be there some where on the ship. Suddenly she heard her name called. “Oh!” She said joyfully, “That is my young man. There he is, there he is!” Nearly a thousand eyes had been trying to draw away her attention but all in vain. In the same way, once we know our Lord by experience no man or woman can draw our eyes from him.
It is our longing that our eyes also may be fixed upon the Lord. There may be extreme persecution. There may be rebuke, ridicule or mockery for His Name’s sake. We may be even hated by our own parents, friends, relatives or neighbors. All this may happen to us sooner or later. Many believers have been drawn away be men, women, money and position. They have denied their Lord. But our Lord loves us, and He is saying to us again and again, “Look unto Me. Look unto Me all the ends of the world” (Isa 45:22). What a loving invitation! Our Lord is saying to all of us, “Whatever may be your difficulty or trial or temptation, you look unto Me.” That is the secret of victory.
Look and be Radiant
In Psalm 34:5 we read, “They looked unto Him and were lightened!” This means that they were radiant and shining. Before they came to Him, their faces were filled with fear and marks of sin and shame. Every sinful thought, word or deed brings an ugly and shameful mark upon your face. You may not see it in the beginning but afterwards it will appear. Here God says, “they looked unto Him and their faces were radiant.” Who were these people? They were those who had once had shameful and ugly faces, where you could see nothing but the blackness of sin. But now, having seen Him, their faces shine. They became radiant. A new heavenly beauty came upon their faces. From the same Psalm in verses 4, 6, 17 and 19 we can see the Psalmist went through many afflictions. But when he came to the Lord and saw him, he was delivered out of all his fears. All his troubles and afflictions disappeared. If I had time to listen to you and you had time to talk to me, then you would tell me all about your troubles. You would say to me. “Brother, I have so many troubles. Can you spare me five or six hours, I can tell you everything” and some perhaps may require weeks or even months, because their troubles are so many their burdens so great. But listen; do not tell me your troubles. Do not tell them to your neighbors or to preachers or to anyone else; they cannot help you, even if they would. This man of God David tried his friends and they failed him. He had a friend called Jonathan who loved him very much and he was the King’s son. Even though he tried to help him he could not and David went to other Kings and they also failed him. In the end he says he sought the Lord; in other words he saw the Lord.
We read that all kinds of men came to David to the cave of Adhullam, because they were in trouble (I Samuel 22:2). You can imagine how all these me came to David and taking their turn, began to tell him their stories. They must have been long stories. One said, “I am troubled by my wife.” Another said, “I am troubled by friends.” Others said they were troubled by debts or by neighbors. But one morning when they woke up they saw David’s face shining. Can you imagine that day? They said, “What has happened to you brother David? Last night you were in terrible pain. Shedding tears with us. But now we see a change in your face. Brother David! How did you get such a glorious shining face?” He must have replied to them, “I have no more pain, no more trial, no more afflictions, they are all gone. See the Lord has helped me. He has delivered me from all my fears.” Even though he was still living in the mountain cave and he was still in the same difficulties and still being pursued by Saul, he was saying by faith: ‘I sought the Lord and He heard me. He delivered me from all my fears, afflictions, trials and troubles.” That is how He will deliver you also.
There was a man, who went to a Maulvi (Muslim teacher) and said to him, “I want to have a shining face, please tell me how to get a shining face. “He said to him, “I will give you a prayer to memorize. Repeat it twenty times a day for twenty-one days. After three weeks you will have a shining face.” The Maulvi only wanted money and so deceived this man. He instructed him to wash his face and hands and to repeat this prayer. The man asked, “It may be very cold weather; then how can I wash my face? He was told that if he could not wash himself with water he could take dust, or sand, and rub it on his face and hands. So from that day he did as he was told. Then on the twenty-second day, very early in the morning he woke up to pray. It was very cold and he could not wash with cold water. So he went outside to take some dust, to rub on his hands. It was dark and his fingers touched some black spot, which he daubed on his face and hands. Then he prayed. After that he went to see his wife and said, “My dear wife, now tell me, so you find glory on my face?” She woke up and saw that his whole face was black and she said, “If glory is black then there is plenty of it on your face.” You find so many Christians pray regularly and attend many meetings and also take part in what they call communion service, but their faces are black with shameful spots. No doubt they are called by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the marks of sin and shame can be seen on their faces.
But David is saying from true experience, in Psalm 34:5 “They looked unto Him and their faces were radiant.” The men that had come to David with grumbling, murmuring, sorrowful faces now saw David’s face shining even in the dark cave of Adhullam. They also learned to look unto the Lord, and their faces also began to shine. Divine glory and beauty were shining upon their faces, in spite of their poverty and sickness.
This beauty, which God gives, will not come by using soap or powder or cream or by wearing jewels of gold and silver. How foolish some people are! They think by using such things they can become beautiful. They think by worldly and shameful means they can become beautiful. In fact in this way they become uglier. It is only when our fears go away and we conquer our trials by faith then we can have faces shining with the glory of God.
But we have to learn by experience now to do this. Peter had said, “I will never deny thee.” But when temptation came he denied the Lord three times, and the third time he began even to swear and curse, I never knew this man. I have never met him. I don’t know him at all.” No doubt that was a very difficult moment for Peter. We may not be able to imagine it. He was surrounded by wicked men who were the enemies of the Lord Jesus. So now he was filled with fear. Yet he had said before, “I will never deny thee.” Most of us also say the same thing, and yet we deny Him. Some people will not even carry their Bibles with them. They say, “What will my neighbors think. What will my officer say?” Perhaps they might say, “Even this man had became very religious!” They are afraid, and when they do carry their Bibles, they hide them under their coats or somewhere else. They are ashamed of what people may say. Others feel too shy even to say a few words about our Lord. It is very easy for us to condemn Peter. But what about ourselves? Have we not miserably failed Him and denied Him so many times?
The Lord Jesus Christ loved Peter and He used a cock to show it. We do not know how it came, but we know that the Lord did not command an angel but a cock, and used it to tell Peter that he had denied Him. And the cock obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ and said, “Cookaroo, Cookaroo.” Then Peter remembered the Lord. The Lord can use even a cock if He wants to. He is not depending upon preachers. Sometimes preachers preach for hours and no one repents. But that morning a mere cock which obeyed the Lord made Peter repent. His heart became softened and he wept bitterly.
Peter looked to the Lord and obtained victory over temptation. Now the Lord is saying to you, “Look unto Me. Whatever your sins may be, look unto Me.” Whatever your failures may be and however shameful and great your sins, He is saying the same words, “Look unto Me. Do not look at your preacher, or your friends, or even at angels. Look unto Me and be ye saved.”
Whenever you look at Him, your tears of repentance will start to fall. There are some people who are ashamed to shed tears in God’s house, but at home they shed tears. At home the wives ask their husbands for something and it they refuse, then tears come into their eyes. You can shed tears for many things in your house, but in the Lord’s house you are ashamed to shed tears. Do not refuse to sorrow for your sins today.
The Lord is calling you whatever your fears, your troubles or afflictions may be, to look unto Him. First of all David came to the Lord with tears of repentance and sorrow; then there was joy upon his face. The Psalmist says, “they looked unto Him and their faces were radiant. Straightaway their faces became radiant. We can say these words with authority; “All your afflictions, troubles and trials can disappear provided you look at the One, who loved you and died for you.” He is saying these words showing you His wounded hands and wounded feet, “Look unto me and see what I have done for you. How much I have suffered for you to forgive you, and to transform you, and to take away all your fears, afflictions and trials.” Look unto Him today, and you also will become radiant.