Glimpses of Glory

by Tyler Zach




When was the last time you had a glimpse of God’s Glory? What was it that you saw? A beautiful sunset? Someone helping an elderly person? Watching a parent smile and hold their newborn baby? Watching a scene from your favorite movie? Worshiping in church with your hands raised high? Listening to your favorite song? Watching your favorite sport’s team play on TV? Seeing a dear friend finally understand the truth of the gospel?

The Glory of God is revealed in many ways through many different means. We can’t control it or make it happen. It just comes in a wave of power at the most unexpected times. And often we don’t even realize what it is at the moment. God doesn’t restrict himself to churches nor confine Himself to what we would think of as religious activities. He is everywhere at all times. A Super Bowl victory praise is a glimpse of the feeling we will have when Jesus’ army prevails in the end of days. A sunset is a glimpse of the beauty our eyes will gaze at when we are walking toward the gates of heaven. Our favorite song is a glimpse of the speechless joy we will experience when we are silently bowed before the King.

His Glory can’t be hidden or ignored. It is beautiful. It is compelling. It moves the heart. It is speechless. It is what we long for. It is what we seek. It is what we want to gaze upon forever and ever.

When Mel Gibson, in the movie Braveheart, is murdered - every man is left speechless, fixing their hearts on the beauty of giving up your life for a cause. It is noble. It is pure. It is so unordinary. We all wish that we could somehow have the same courage, the same passion, the same devotion. But then we turn off the DVD and go back to our same old life. We tell ourselves that it was a great movie but leave it at that. We don’t even realize that we just experienced a glimpse of God’s Glory. And that Glory is available to us 24/7 for all of eternity.

If God’s Glory is real, and is not just a nice feeling in our head, and is occurring non-stop, then why don’t we have these glimpses more often? Why can’t we see what God is revealing to us all day long?

This world is heavy with fog. We see clearly with our physical eyes, but our spiritual eyes are dimmed. Ever since sin entered the world, God’s Glory has been masked. The blinds have been shut. But every once and a while, the shades are pulled slightly open and we experience a brief flood of light. This light pours heavily into our dark room. We are awakened and our adrenaline arises. God is coming. God is revealing Himself.

This is true. We can’t see God unless He reveals Himself. However, He also says in the book of James, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” I encourage you this week to draw near to Him with me. I’m guilty of doing a million things for Him while at the same time ignoring Him. My faith is weak. I can think of a dozen times this week when I have exchanged a glimpse of God’s Glory for something that I thought would fulfill me more. When we experience intimacy with God we tell ourselves that nothing in the world can compare. So why do we have such a hard time praying with Him? Why do we have a hard time meditating and reflecting upon the Word? Why do we have a hard time confessing our sin and being real with our friends – knowing that it will bring healing from God? Why do we keep going back to the same sinful patterns - knowing full well that by doing so we are only shutting the shades? The answer is that our faith is weak. Our modern minds think of faith as a one-time decision or agreement that God exists. It is not. Faith is an ongoing, fog-removing, turn-away-from-the- world and turn-to-God thing. If faith were a simple thing, then why would God say "sort out your salvation with fear and trembling?" Faith is drawing near to God's revelation each day.

Remember that worship is our response to experiencing God’s Glory. So how can we worship this week if we don’t see His Glory? And how can we see His Glory if we aren’t drawing near to Him? Let us draw near.