The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory. All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols - worship Him, all you gods! ... Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name. (Psalm 97:1-7; 11-12)
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"Show me Your glory."
I have written down these four words on so many things in my lifetime: journals, sermon notes; homework; notes in class; etc. Ever since I had first heard this prayer, I desired to understand it; to see, know, and experience His glory.
I can remember where it all began. We were at a church camp my sophomore year in High School and the worship band was playing a short tag where we literally sang that small phrase over and over and over.
And every time we sang it, the request became more and more concrete within my soul. "Show me Your glory; Your bigness; Your extravagance..."
This is the image of God displayed in today's Psalm.
He is not some small "god"... Instead, His very presence changes reality: Clouds and thick darkness surround Him. Fire comes from Him. His lightening - His power - lights up the world. And mountains literally melt like wax before Him.
That. is. insane. His glory is reality changing.
Let's sit on this idea for a while. Can you think of another real-life being - another power - that can literally change reality? Aside from movies and hit TV shows, this kind of concept is far beyond us. We are amazed at it on TV, but apart from God, it is not found in our world.
But our God dramatically heals the blind. He makes food fall from the sky. He walks on water. He stops storms with His words. He brings redemption through His blood. He speaks and rocks, mountains, and rivers obey.
But this isn't all. He also changes reality through His people. Because of His glory, we can move mountains, speak and bring about change, lay hands and bring healing, speak His redemption, and much, much more.
I do not know about you, but I want to experience that kind of change in my reality. I mean, lets be honest... our daily life is typically dry, normal, mundane, typical, tiering, ordinary, and safe.
We often leave a small window - if that - for this kind of reality-changing glory.
But what if we stopped, opened our eyes, and saw God approaching and the mountains melting. What if we humbled ourselves and recognized the glory that He brings into our world; the glory that He is asking us to bring into our world?
The conversations He is calling us to start. The forgiveness He is calling us to ask for. The peace that He is channeling us to make. The reconciliation that He is bringing us to instill. And the hope that He is commanding us to bring to life.
You see, when His glory is seen, all other images fall aside. No other god - idol, temptation, product, desire, pursuit - can compare with the one, true, living God.
So let us see and "make seen" this one, true, living God today. With one voice, let's proclaim: "Show me Your glory!"
We would love to know, how have you seen God's glory on display? Feel free to let us know in the comments of today's IG post (instagram.com/declareglory). As always, have a blessed day.
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
