Proverbs 16:1-4 says, “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for His own ends even the wicked for a day of disaster.”
Glory for God alone is the key thought I see in the previous verses. The Lord works out everything for His own ends and all things work out to the glory of God. Whatever I do, it should be done to the glory of God.
II Corinthians 4:16-18 reminds me,
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far out weighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Everything that we experience is for God’s glory and ultimately for our eternal weight of glory as well. In C. S. Lewis’ sermon, The Weight of Glory, he states, “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbors glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.”
What we experience in this life is for God and not about us ultimately. Everything is designed to draw us deeper into our relationship with God so that we may reflect His glory in all circumstances and through this reflection, those around us will see His glory and need to know the source.
The idea that life isn’t all about us is a life long concept to grasp. We exist for God, He doesn’t exist for us. So when the pressures of life cause us to fall on our knees crying out to God in need, He is there to hear us, but ultimately, through the process of prayer, He reveals His glory in our lives through our neediness.
“Answer my O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God.” I Kings 18:36-37
Elijah prayed this asking the true God of heaven to set ablaze the true alter on earth. In his prayer, Elijah surely hoped for his own vindication. But even more, he hoped God’s validation of His own worth. He prayed that God would answer in a way that would cause people to praise Him. Even in your deepest needs, you should be aware that your prayers of desperation contain elements not just of deliverance but also of glory. In your despair, in your lack, and in your ambitions you will see an opportunity for non-believers to see God’s glory. You have a higher purpose than your own small circle of influence” (Tiegreen, Worship the King).
What does all this have to do with me? I quote Brian Johnson from The Breakfast Club, “You see us as you want to see us-in simplest terms, in the most convenient definition. You see us a s a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal….”
Each of us has an “ism” with which we are continually dealing or a new trial we are facing today. Each of us can find ourselves as a brain, a basket case or a criminal, but God will use that to bring His name to the fore-front and bring His glory down to earth. God is allowing a tough marriage for His glory, to show Himself to the non-believer as the Lord, the God of Creation. He is showing His glory in a brain tumor, in an estranged husband or wife, in the loss of job, in living with other people who are not a pair of comfortable jeans. But as I write this, it is not about these momentary troubles but for the Glory of God to be revealed to the world through us. We a can fight it, but He will get the Glory with or without us. Or we can submit to His plans, swallow our pride and begin to see His glory in our lives that will ultimately bring all men to Himself. We need to embrace the rocky marriage, the lack of finances, the hurting and broken body parts, and the people in our lives who drive us nuts and fall to our knees in all these things, for these are earning for us an eternal weight of glory.