Letting His Light Shine Through

I’ll be honest—the last few weeks have been rough. I’ve been in the dumps, weighed down by the struggles we’re facing, consumed by everything that’s going wrong. But as this new year begins, I feel a shift happening in my heart. I don’t want to be Negative Nancy anymore. I want to be Positive Patty—or better yet, I want to be so full of Jesus that people can’t help but notice.

My goal for this year is beautifully simple: I want to be so radiant in my faith that others who witness it want it too.

Not because I’m doing something spectacular. Not because I have it all together or because my life is suddenly problem-free. But because Jesus’ light shines through me in a way that draws people to Him, not to me.

I don’t want the focus. I don’t want people looking at me thinking I’m amazing. I want them to see something different, something brighter, something that only comes from walking closely with Christ. I want them to wonder what I have, and then point them straight to Jesus.

The Wake-Up Call

These past few weeks showed me something important: negativity is easy. Complaining comes naturally. When you’re in the thick of hard circumstances, it takes zero effort to spiral into focusing on everything that’s falling apart. I caught myself doing it constantl, in conversations with friends, in my prayers (which honestly became more like complaint sessions), even in my own internal dialogue. Every thought seemed to circle back to what was going wrong.

And you know what? It was exhausting. Being negative is draining. It steals your energy, your joy, your peace. It affects how you treat the people around you. It clouds every good thing happening because you’re too busy staring at the bad.

I realized I didn’t want to live like that anymore. Not for another week, let alone another year.

It Starts With What I Focus On

Here’s what I’m learning: being that full of faith begins with less focus on all the negatives. It’s not about ignoring reality or pretending struggles don’t exist. It’s not about toxic positivity or slapping a smile on your face when you’re hurting. It’s about choosing where I fix my eyes.

Am I dwelling on what’s going wrong, or am I looking for where God is working? Am I rehearsing my complaints, or am I remembering His faithfulness? Am I magnifying my problems, or am I magnifying my God?

The struggles are still there. The circumstances haven’t magically changed overnight. The bills still need to be paid, the relationships still need work, the disappointments still sting. But my perspective can change. My focus can shift. And when I lift my gaze from the problems to the Problem-Solver, everything starts to look different.

What Radiant Faith Actually Looks Like

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be “radiant” in faith. It’s not about being perfect or having all the answers. It’s not about never struggling or always being happy. Radiant faith is choosing praise when you’d rather complain. It’s speaking life when negativity would be easier. It’s trusting God’s goodness even when you can’t see it yet. It’s having peace that doesn’t make sense given your circumstances. It’s showing kindness when you’re running on empty. It’s having hope when everything looks hopeless.

People notice that. They notice when someone has joy in the midst of trials. They notice when someone responds with grace instead of bitterness. They notice when someone’s strength clearly comes from somewhere beyond themselves.

That’s the kind of light I want to shine. Not my own, I don’t have that kind of power. But His light, flowing through me because I’m staying connected to the Source.

My Practical Game Plan

I’m not just making a vague resolution here. I’m putting some real practices in place to help me stay positive and faith-filled:

Morning Gratitude: Before I even check my phone, I’m listing three things I’m thankful for. It sets the tone for my whole day.

Scripture Over Stress: When I feel negativity creeping in, I’m replacing those thoughts with God’s truth. I’m memorizing verses that remind me who He is and who I am in Him.

Guarding My Words: I’m paying attention to what comes out of my mouth. Am I speaking life or death? Am I building up or tearing down? Words have power, and I want mine to reflect faith.

Celebration Over Comparison: I’m choosing to celebrate what God is doing in my life and in others’ lives instead of comparing my struggles to someone else’s highlight reel.

Community That Lifts Up: I’m surrounding myself with people who encourage my faith, not feed my negativity. Iron sharpens iron, and I need people who will point me back to Jesus.

Serving Others: There’s something about getting outside of your own problems and helping someone else that shifts your entire perspective. I want to be so busy loving others that I don’t have time to wallow.

The Ripple Effect

Here’s what gets me excited: when we live with this kind of radiant faith, it’s contagious. People are hungry for hope. They’re desperate for something real, something that actually works when life gets hard. They’re tired of empty promises and fake smiles.

But when they see someone with genuine peace? With unexplainable joy? With unshakeable hope? They want to know the secret.

And that’s when we get to say, “It’s not me. It’s Jesus. And He’s available to you too.”

That’s the ripple effect I want to create. Not drawing attention to myself, but creating curiosity about the God I serve. Being a living testimony that He is good, He is faithful, and He is enough, even when everything else isn’t.

A Prayer for the Journey

So here’s to a year of intentional joy. Of choosing gratitude over grumbling. Of speaking faith over fear. Of letting Jesus shine so brightly through me that people can’t help but ask where my hope comes from.

Less Negative Nancy. More Positive Patty. But most of all, more Jesus.

This won’t be perfect. I’ll have hard days. I’ll probably still complain sometimes. But I’m committed to the journey. I’m committed to fixing my eyes on Him and letting His light do the shining.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. Not whether I had a perfect year, but whether people saw Jesus in me. Not whether I avoided all struggles, but whether I walked through them with faith. Not whether I felt positive every single day, but whether I chose to trust God every single day.

Will you join me on this journey? Let’s be people who shine so bright with His love that others can’t help but be drawn to the Light.

What’s one way you can shift from negative to positive this week? Drop a comment below, I’d love to hear how you’re choosing faith over fear this year!