Imagine you’re in a dark room, you see the door open, and someone carrying a torch walks in. You see the light before you see the person carrying the light, right? Jesus said, ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ First impressions are powerful. People can tell a lot about us in seven seconds. They may decide they don’t want to hear anything we have to say, or they may be struck by how much they’re drawn to us. There’s actually a communications expert who says: ‘You’ve got just seven seconds to make the right first impression. As soon as you make your entrance, you broadcast verbal and nonverbal signals that determine how others see you.’ And if we’re spending time with God in the quiet place, that’ll start to show up on our faces and in our body language. In fact, we’ve probably all met people who are full of the presence of God, and noticed it in the first seven seconds. Henry Ward Beecher said: ‘There are persons so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel in their presence that they do you good, whose coming into a room is like bringing a shining lamp there.’ This is literally true of Jesus, who came down from time with His Father with His face and clothes shining like the sun. As his friends spent time with Him, you can be sure it started to show up on them, too.

What now?

Find a trusted friend who sounds like that sort of person. Ask them what their quiet times with Jesus are like.