THE GOD OF UNYIELDING (AND UNSURPASSED) GLORY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Isaiah 42:8-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I have always loved these words from the first verse and chorus of the song, Show Me Your Glory, by Third Day:

Caught a glimpse of Your splendor
In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I've ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky
And I know I'll never be the same

Show me Your glory
Send down Your presence
I wanna see Your face
Show me Your glory
Majesty shines about You
I can't go on without You, Lord

You see, what makes life so exciting to me is experiencing the magnificent splendor and glory of God within each day He blesses us with.

That glory can be revealed in a beautiful sunrise or sunset. It can be revealed in the news that someone who was afflicted with cancer has received news that the disease is in remission. It can be seen in a broken relationship that becomes reconciled through softened hearts, forgiveness, and the renewed love that emerges. It can be seen in a newborn child, tiny and innocent yet perfectly and wonderfully made by the hands of our Creator God.

There is no shortage of places we can see God’s splendor and glory on display, a splendor and glory like no other. It is completely unsurpassed by anything for the Lord’s glory has no rival or equal. The Lord tells us as much in these two verses from the 42nd chapter of the Book of Isaiah:

“I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” vv. 8-9

Indeed, when we fully come to appreciate the unyielding (and unsurpassed) glory of the Lord abounding evident in the world we live in, we cannot help but feel impelled to testify of it as did Moses and the Israelites after their deliverance from Egypt when they sang:

Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11

To these Israelites, they would find the glory of the Lord after this song in the way of manna and quail sent to nourish them in their journey to the land His promised them. This after they had experienced an awesome display of the Lord’s majestic power when the sea parted and lifted up so they could escape Pharaoh and his men on dry land (Exodus 14). Still at other times, the glory of the Lord appeared to the Israelites in a cloud or appearing as a consuming fire (Exodus 16:10, 24:16-17, 40:34-35). In the New Testament, the glory of the Lord surrounded a company of angels who appeared to a group of shepherds who were tending to their flocks one evening, declaring the arrival of the long awaited Messiah Jesus who was nestled in a Bethlehem manger under the care of Joseph and Mary, the appointed care providers of God’s one and only Son (Luke 2:8-18).

But the Lord’s glory is not confined to just temporary displays. For the word of God tells us that it fills the whole earth (Numbers 14:21). Thus, everywhere we look, we see the glory of the Lord on display as we witness His abounding working wonders. The prophet Habakkuk later would say, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). There is nowhere we can escape the glory of the Lord. Nowhere.

As I look out the window of my office this morning, I see trees and shrubs and grass, all signs of the creative power of the Lord. There are robins flittering about, signaling the coming of the spring season where everything blossoms and springs into new life after a harsh winter. I look up into a cloudy sky and although I cannot see the sun, I know it is there, sending warmth and light even though it is obscured. I’m reminded that no matter how cloudy life makes our circumstances, we always have the Son, Jesus the light of the world (John 8:12), shining down on us and bringing us the warmth of His perfect love. In fact, perhaps there has been no greater display of the glory of God than Him sending His Son to save us from our sins, bringing us the opportunity for an eternal life lived in everlasting hope. Indeed, Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica and tells them this:

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Thessalonians 2:14

That glory is the glory that comes with salvation, for glory isn’t just for the present but it will last for all eternity. For when Christ returns, the following picture is painted, revealing the glory yet to come, a glory that will make the glory of this world seem mild by comparison:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:1-5

Note how this connects to our scripture passage from Isaiah where God promised all things would be made new and announced before they would spring into being. In Christ Jesus, we are brought to the highest appreciation of the glory of God as through Him, He makes us into new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) who will one day inhabit His new creation (the New Jerusalem). Through this process of being new creations, the glory of the Lord is passed onto us through the Holy Spirit so that we might share it with others in word and deed (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). In other words, people can see the glory of the Lord through what we do for them and how we testify about Him in our conversations with them. We become instruments of His glory.

In the final translation, the scriptures clearly declare to us (and we experience) that the glory of God is unyielding and unsurpassed, just as He asserted. Given this truth, don’t forget to revel in His glory each and every day, giving Him your fullest honor and praise for all He has been, all He is, and all He is yet to be in your life. He deserves nothing less.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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