Last week on my run, the sun popped out. When I ran through its glance, it elongated me. My shadow ran beside me, only it was far longer than my frame. It made me realize something: God elongates us when we step out into the sun.

But many of us don’t like being in the spotlight like that. We don’t much like the brightness. And the thought of Jesus elongating us makes us nervous. We don’t want to shine like that. We’re afraid.

But every person can shine by overcoming 3 excuses.

Excuse one. I’m afraid shining means selfishness.

Remember this: God didn’t punish Moses for leading well. He gave Moses the gift of leadership, then prodded him out into the light. He did the miracles, Moses simply watched God work. If he never stepped out, he wouldn’t have seen the miracles, the power, the glory. It’s not selfish to find joy in exercising your gifts, particularly when you know that they came from Him in the first place.

Excuse two. I don’t have anything to offer.

God created every single person on this earth to shine. To be a vessel for His amazing glory. You are the only you on this earth. You have your own unique sets of gifts, friends, family, and circle of influence. Of course you have something to offer. Who you are becomes your offering. He doesn’t ask you to be light, in this instance. He doesn’t ask you to try to make more of yourself than you are. He simply beckons you to be brave enough to step into the light so HE can elongate you. (And He gets the glory when that happens.)

Excuse three. God will make me do weird things.

Actually, He will. He’ll ask you to step out of your comfortable world to pray for orphans, make dinners for shut ins, and stop your agenda to serve another’s. Because God loves the whole wide world, He will ask you to follow His upside-down kingdom. Yep, that means weird things. But in doing weird things, you’ll experience His shining and your elongation in ways you never thought possible. You will live a better story.

Dare to risk today. Shine. What holds you back today from shining like that?