This was a recent devotion which I read:

Unveiled Faces

¹⁶But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. —2 Corinthians 3:16-18

On fire, white hot, rocked to the core, gripped by His greatness, unbelievably contagious; these are all phrases describing one who has experienced a breakthrough, victory over sin, and  transforming growth. Great! The question is, “How do I get there?”

The answer lies in beholding God’s glory . . . with unveiled face. This is defined earlier in the passage as trusting in Him as Savior. When sin and self-reliance are put down and God is lifted up, God’s children with unveiled faces can be more than formed through raw human effort. They can be transformed by His glory pouring over them. This divine transformation (also known as sanctification), purifies us from one degree of glory to another. 

We may think, “Yeah, I believe in Jesus, but I still feel stagnant.” Here’s what we do:

Think of God’s glory as sunshine and get a “glory tan.” Bask in His glory with nothing veiling His impact. Give Him control over your life.  We say, “Great, I get that, and I have been trying to give Him control, but I am holding back or something.” That’s common. Here is a secret; there is one simple step to basking completely unveiled, allowing His glory to pour over you.Breathe. Spiritually breathe. It’s a Bill Bright term, and man, does it capture the essence of that thought. To spiritually breathe we must exhale and then inhale.

Exhaling is breathing out the junk, confessing and repenting of any known sin. Exhaling is getting it clean before God. Exhaling is completely removing the veil between us and God’s glory. It is essential to transformation. To seek any change without being unveiled before God’s glory is just fleshly behavior modification. Remember, God’s glory is where the divine power of change resides.

Inhaling is then claiming any promises of His character, of His person, of His relationship with us. Inhaling is setting your feet on the Rock, our Savior and standing firm. Do not be satisfied with one breath a day, week, or month. You are spiritually suffocating if you do.

So it’s time to start breathing. It’s time to start exhaling and inhaling regularly throughout the day. You will be basking in the radiant glory of the Almighty. You will be on fire! You will betransformed from one degree of glory to another! —Tim Harkness