“I sought the LORD, and he heard me” (Psalm 34:4)
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.
This beauty which God gives will not come by using soap or powder or cream or by wearing jewel of gold and silver. How foolish some people are! They think that by using such things they can become beautiful. In fact, in this way, they become uglier. It is only when our fear do away and we conquer our trials by faith, that we can have faces shining with the glory of God. The men that had come to David with grumbling, murmuring, sorrowful faces now saw David’s face shining even in the dark cave of Adullam. 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.
From the same Psalm in verse 4, 6, 17, 19 we can see that the Psalmist went through many afflictions. But when he came to the Lord and saw him, he was delivered out of all his fears and afflictions disappeared. If I had time to listen to you and you had time to talk to me, you would tell me about your troubles. But listen; do not tell me your troubles. Do not tell them to your neighbours or to preachers or to anyone else; they cannot help you, even if they could. 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 the other kings and they also failed him. In the end, he said, “I have no more pain, no more trial, and 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.