“I will manifest My glory in your midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord…” – Ezekiel 28:22 {ESV}
On any given day you and I may awake and be uncertain about some things. Not all of your life is crystal clear and we are called as Christians to journey onward by faith, trusting God with both the known and unknown. God is well-pleased when He witnesses faith in us that results in steadfast endurance. We may not be able to glibly skip down the pathway with all of life in our favor, but we can certainly march in line, disciplined as soldiers of the King. You need not be aware of all the facts in order to discharge your orders. We march by faith, believing that a full and final clarity will be ours soon.
Glorious news is this, that you may be absolutely confident of this one thing with each and every passing day: God is set for His own glory and renown. His work in you, for you, around you and in spite of you is being superintended so that He receives great glory. In the end, our God will not be denied the astounded praise of all the inhabitants of Heaven as the dawning of full understanding fills us concerning what God was doing while we were upon earth. Surely the shouts of the redeemed will occur, in part, because we will then fathom how the Almighty was working all things, in all places, through all people for His own ultimate praise and glory. Beautifully, in the end of this age and upon the entrance unto the next, we will know that He is the Lord. What place does this have for us today? Well it imparts unto us the possibility of keen perspective. Being trapped now in time, we are slow to remember that nothing here is permanent. The joys and the victories and the beauties and the ecstasies are all to be swallowed up by infinitely greater pleasure. The pains and the sorrows and the betrayals and the sinfulness will be eradicated for the rest of eternity, never to be experienced again. The wise apostle taught us that present sufferings are unworthy to be considered in light of their ultimate vaporization in glory (Romans 8:18). When we truly believe that all of this life is purposed for the glory of God then we can rest confidently that His aim will be achieved through our lives.
May this Lord’s Day lend itself to you fully embracing that you are not the center. You and I were never to be considered the core. Nothing revolves around us as we embrace the truth that we are born once, and then born again, for the sake of Another. May He be greatly magnified today whether you find triumph or trouble. May His song of steadfastness be loud upon your lips. May His supreme love be received by you in all confidence and joy, knowing that He has made you a part of the process of bringing glory to Himself. Our God is glorious in the heavens and I trust that you will find Him great today…
…great for you, great in you, great through you, great above you.