February 27, 2011 … God’s Glory

Passage of the Day: Psalm 19: 1 … The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

My Journal for Today: John MacArthur in Strength for Today writes for this date, “God’s glory is the radiance of all He is.” And reflecting on God’s attributes and character, as I have been this month, one would certainly be remiss if we ignored His glory.

However, like the radiance of the sun, we cannot look directly upon God’s glory, … only at its afterglow or reflection. Moses prayed to see God’s face (i.e., His glory), and God would let Moses only see His back (see Exodus 33: 18 – 20). But God has put – and still does put – reflections of glory into the lives of His children to let us see glimpses of the afterglow. Consider these passages in the Old Testament, illustrating God’s glory revealed to His people …

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 13: 21 … By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 40: 34 … Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Kings 8: 10-11 … When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

God simply will not give His glory directly to us – except in the Person of His Son and the indwelling presence of His Spirit … as God spoke through the Prophet, Isaiah …

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 42: 8 …"I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not give my glory to another or My praise to idols.”

We must be satisfied, as the Psalmist declares in today’s verse, to receive, what I call, “glimpses of glory.” Perhaps this comes through His creation, as I was privileged to see by a lake in Kentucky one morning when I was about to give a talk to a group with a sermon entitled, “God’s Love Through His Creation.” As I sat there on a bench with the sun rising across the lake, two doves flew down and lit about 6 - 8 feet from where I was sitting. They nuzzled one another and cooed for at least 2 – 3 minutes and then flew off TOGETHER. It was as if God was saying to me, “… Bill, let Me give you a glimpse of my love through My creation.” To me, it was a definite “glimpse of glory” from my God.

Perhaps we get glimpses of God’s glory in the unselfish relationship of a forgiving and loving Christian who does something you know to be quite beyond what you might’ve expected from that person. Have you ever been forgiven when you didn’t deserve it? Have you ever extended your love or caring to someone where it was difficult-to-impossible to do so and way beyond what would be “normal” for you? Such acts of humanity are not “natural.” It’s way beyond the natural. That, dear one, is a glimpse of God’s glory being extended in Christ-like manner through another or through you, yourself.

Perhaps you’ve read a passage of scripture which you’ve read many times before; and suddenly you were enveloped by a warmth of understanding and discernment that you’ve never had when you read that passage in the past. It was as if God was shining a light of truth on you through His word. That is definitely a “glimpse of God’s glory.”

And for these special insights into the Glory of God, we must declare, as did the Psalmist [in Ps. 86: 12], …“I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your Name forever.”

My Prayer Today: May all that I am, Lord, be a reflection of your Glory. Amen