Month: March 2026

Categories
Uncategorized

God’s Glory in His Deeds

On weekly strolls down green fairways, my friend Matt would often voice the most recent difficulties facing his business. It was not uncommon for him to stress openly over the pressure of financial strain. “If [such and such] doesn’t happen, I won’t make payroll next week.” Or “If I can’t restructure this agreement, I’ll have to close up shop.” [Building a business is not for the fainthearted.] Yet after a while, I noticed a trend: A man of prayer, Matt always survived his predicament, and quite often in the most unforeseeable of ways. Repeatedly amazed, I finally suggested, “It’s clear God hears you; He keeps delivering you from these predicaments. You should keep a journal of your prayers and His provision, because He’s answering you without fail.” So, Matt did exactly that — he began to record his petitions and then God’s faithful provision. His journal continues to be for him a source of strength and a call to praise.

We have been considering God’s glory over the past few weeks. In our March 11 post, we learned it is for His glory that He formed and made us.1 And in last week’s post, we saw praiseworthiness in His very being: He is Jehovah Shalom, our peace; Jehovah Raah, our shepherd; Jehovah Nissi, our banner; Jehovah Tsidkenu, our righteousness; and El Shaddai, Lord God Almighty.2 We could add, El Elyon, “the Most High God.”3 We see His glory in who He is.

Yet as my friend Matt experienced, God also manifests His glory in what He does. Again, we see it in His names, His descriptions.

He is El Roi, “the God who sees me.”4 Have you ever sensed God’s intimate, personal presence amid the most difficult times of your life, or can you now see it in retrospect?
He is Jehovah Jireh, “the Lord will provide.”5 Can you recall a time when you “inexplicably” received exactly what you needed, be it financial provision or inner assurance?
He is Jehovah Rapha, “the Lord who heals you.”6 Have you ever witnessed God’s miraculous healing, whether within yourself or in someone you know? (I think this happens more often than we realize or recall.)

If you have experienced God in any of His works in or around you, then tell of them, for people draw strength from testimonies. And sing from your soul the glory due God’s name, not only for who He is, but also for what He does. “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name.”7

“You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?”8 To You be all glory in the heavens and in our hearts, now and forever. In Christ we live and in Him we pray. Amen.

1 Isaiah 43:6-7
2 See last week’s post for Biblical citations of these descriptions of God.
3 Genesis 14:18-20
4 Genesis 16:13
5 Genesis 22:14
6 Exodus 15:26
7 Psalm 105:1-3 NIV
8 Psalm 71:19 NLT

Categories
Uncategorized

The Glory Due God’s Name

When our discussion occasionally turns to God’s glory, my good friend Dennis1 confesses some degree of ambivalence: while Dennis loves God and whole-heartedly agrees He is worthy of our praise, he is less comfortable with God’s continual insistence that we glorify Him. Likely, some of us can relate to one degree or another, so Dennis’ candor posits the topic before us. Let’s dig in.

God is indeed passionate for His own glory, and perhaps no scripture emphasizes it as clearly or boldly as His words spoken through the prophet Isaiah — “For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”2 No equivocation here! God glorifies Himself and, as we learned in last week’s post, our purpose in life is to glorify Him.  

Now, if a peer were to demand we continually proclaim his greatness, we would rightly consider him to be vainglorious — an egomaniac whose opinion of himself exceeds his worthiness of it. But praise be to God, He is not our peer; God has no equal! Rhetorically He asks, “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?”3 No one! God — and only God — lives both in the highest of heavens and in the lowliest of hearts. To a world craving goodness, He is a fortress of good — “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”4

Again, God has no equal. He is a category of One. So who is this “One” so worthy of glory?

He is Jehovah Shalom, “the Lord is peace.”5 Have you ever experienced the inner peace of His silent presence?
He is Jehovah Raah, “the Lord is my shepherd.”6 Has God kept you from straying from Him or come after you when you did?
He is Jehovah Nissi, “the Lord is my banner.”7 Have you ever experienced the confidence of God’s victorious presence amid spiritual battle?
He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteousness.”8 Jesus has become righteousness for us,9 so we may forever be in God’s presence. Who else could have done this for us?
He is El Shaddai, “Lord God Almighty.”10 There is nothing He cannot do, and this omnipotent One loves us.
He is El Olam, “the everlasting God.”11 Our life is now hidden with Christ in God.12 As Christ was raised never to die again, so we, too, live forever in Him.

Take time to consider who God is and how you yourself have experienced His greatness. You will find that the glory owed to God does not exceed His worthiness; it reflects it, it proclaims it. Both now and forever. Amen.

Father, Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Be glorified in Your people, Your church. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 This name is changed here for privacy purposes.
2 Isaiah 48:9-11 ESV, emphases added
3 Isaiah 46:5 ESV
4 Psalm 34:8 ESV
5 Judges 6:24
6 Psalm 23:1
7 Exodus 17:15
8 Jeremiah 23:6
9 1 Corinthians 1:30
10 Genesis 17:1
11 Genesis 21:3
12 Colossians 3:3 NIV

Categories
Uncategorized

Our Glorious Purpose

An international friend with a deep spiritual hunger once asked me, “What do you think is the meaning of life? I’ve been asking people this question, and I want to know what you think.” I had an answer for her. “The Bible teaches us that we are here to glorify God. Our purpose is not about us at all; it’s about glorifying God who made us and loves us.” She paused for a moment and replied in a quieter, more pondering tone, “This is the first time I’ve heard this.”

Such insight was not mine, of course, rather I’d happened upon this defining scripture passage, hiding in plain view, a few years prior: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”1 We are the only creatures lovingly forged in God’s image (our priceless worth) and we are created for His glory (our eternal purpose). Then what does this purpose — “to glorify God” — look like? It is the overflow of a heart liberated by His love and grace. We glorify God when we engage with Him in our prayers, praise him with our songs, and exalt Him in our testimonies. Moreover, God is glorified when His proactive love for us overflows through us in practical ways to others, or in other words, as we “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship.”2

Yet I think we also glorify God in ways unbeknownst to us. For when we are born of the Spirit through faith in the Son, all of Heaven erupts in praise to the glory of God. In the words of Jesus, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”3 (Surely the powers of Hell seethe in defeat — another soul saved, another captive freed, another son finding his meaning, another daughter finding her purpose.) Then comes the ripple effect — glory bursting forth into more glory — for as we “let [our] light shine before others, they see [our] good works and give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven.”4 Some of this we see; much of this we don’t, not yet anyway. For now, rejoice in this: God has given us meaning and purpose, for which and through which we give Him glory.

“Therefore . . . whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God.”5

Father, we live and breathe for Your glory; there is no higher honor. May we embrace Your purpose for us, glorifying You in our words and deeds, the overflow of liberated hearts. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Isaiah 43:6-7 NIV, emphasis added
2 Romans 12:1 ESV
3 Luke 15:10 NIV
4 Matthew 5:16 NIV, emphasis added
5 1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB