A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. Proverbs 15:13
Have you ever thought about what a smile can do for someone? Have you ever just been walking through a grocery store and looked at each person walking past you and SMILED at them? Notice how they respond. Some may be surprised, others may hesitate for a moment, but I would say 99 out of 100 people will smile back. It is an unspoken gesture of goodwill and friendship. Most people hurry past you with their eyes down, lost in thought, but when they look up, wouldn’t it be an unexpected surprise to have them greeted with a Smile from one of God’s Ambassadors (that would be YOU…)? A smile costs nothing and gives so much. When you see a tired salesclerk at the counter of a store, start your conversation with a quiet smile. It brings a sense of peace to the other person without speaking a word. It allows the Spirit of God to reach through you to that person’s life. You do not know what that person is dealing with. Perhaps the last customer just yelled at them and insulted them and they are recovering from that wound… your smile can bring peace and comfort and reassurance that the whole world isn’t against them. Perhaps they are waiting to get off their shift to go work a second job to put food on their table, a smile can pause the moment and remind them that someone cares. Maybe they have a loved one in the hospital or a sick child at home, a smile lets them know they are not alone. You don’t have to say a lot of fancy words or bible verses, simply share the Love of Christ with a SMILE and watch God do the rest. Who knows where God could lead the conversation, maybe an opportunity to share why YOU can smile even when things are tough, or you can offer to pray for whatever is weighing them down.
Psalms 67:1 is a special psalm for me and says,
"God be merciful unto us, and bless us, And make Your Face to shine upon us; Selah."
When I consider God’s face shining on me, I see Him smiling. I feel His power and I sense the Joy of His presence surrounding me, and it gives me such comfort to know that His light brightens even the darkest of days. One of my favorite Hillsongs worship songs includes the following words that usually bring tears of Joy to my eyes:
You make Your face to shine on me and that my soul knows very well
You lift me up, I'm cleansed and free and that my soul knows very well
When mountains fall, I'll stand by the power of Your hand
And in Your heart of heart I'll dwell and that my soul knows very well
Joy and strength each day I find and that my soul knows very well
Forgiveness, hope, I know is mine and that my soul knows very well
Just like the sun shining upon us and warming us, so also does the Father’s love shine upon us when we feel alone or lost or cold in this world of darkness and pain. Isn’t it good to know that our God is a loving Heavenly Father, Who smiles down upon us each and every moment of our lives! Psalm 36:9 says , "For with You is the fountain of life, In Your Light we have the light of life." In some commentaries on this verse, the phrase “in Your Light” implies that it is coming from the Face of God, as in a smile. So, if we adjust the passage to include that, it would say, “For with You is the fountain of life, in Your Smile we have the light of life.” Isn’t that a beautiful thought, that in God’s Smile we have the light of life for ourselves, and as His children, we can share that light with others when we simply smile. SELAH (which means stop and consider this)!
I know that we all get busy with our work and our families and our lives, and sometimes get lost in our own thought as we go along our days, but I have a challenge for you over the Thanksgiving weekend coming up: as you go through your day, wherever God takes you, make it a point to consciously SMILE with at least 10 people each day and watch what happens. Let the Love and Light of God SHINE through your smile, and see the amazing Divine Appointments that God will set before you.
So again I say to you… SMILE…it can make all the difference to others who see it!
Shalom, sister Lahoma
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