Put it all into Perspective:Focus on the Glory of God

Anyone out there having a rough week?

As the seasons change and November nears, it seems like everyone is prone to feel a bit down or put upon. As the gloomy winter-ish days begin, it can be easy to let our moods be as overcast as the sky.

I was reminded recently by a friend that I am not perfect -and boy, did I agree with that statement! One of my "imperfections" is a propensity to become easily consumed with my feelings and difficulties (real or imagined). If I'm not careful, my own self-focus can become the most influential factor in my thoughts, actions, and decisions. Soon, my world is revolving around my desire to please, comfort, or ease myself of any difficulties.

But that's not what I was made for -and neither were you!

You and I were made for the specific purpose of glorifying God.

Isaiah 43:7 follows a very encouraging passage in which God promises to protect His people whom He had chosen and loved. In the midst of promising to bring them back from "the ends of the earth" (v.6), He makes this statement:

"Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." 

Are you a Christian, called by the name of Christ? There is also a New Testament command that shows us the truth of this Old Testament principle. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says quite plainly,

"Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (emphasis mine)

This means that everything we do should bring glory to God.

Everything.

God designed you and me to be the instruments of His glory, and the thought of how we can fulfill this design will touch (and enrich) every area of our lives, if we let it. The following are just a few examples of areas in my own life in which I have been learning more about how God wants me to glorify Him, and how focusing on what will bring Him glory changes things.

1. Temptations and Spiritual Warfare

This past week, I brought a workshop at our regional teacher's conference based on my post about Getting God's Heart for Difficult People , and the week leading up to that workshop I experienced the most intense spiritual warfare I remember experiencing. Thankfully, I also experienced the difference dependence upon God makes in the battle against temptation, and the thought that continually came when Satan would throw something new at me was that the workshop was going to glorify God, and I needed to keep myself focused and my heart clean no matter what temptations I faced so that God could use me to glorify Him at the conference.

The focus on what will bring God glory gave me strength to battle temptations, because I know that God is not glorified by sin. Therefore, if I want my life to bring glory to God, I will fight against the temptation to sin with a firm resolve to use every ounce of grace God gives me in order to have the victory.

2.  Emotions and Attitudes

A major area of self-focus for me revolves around my emotions. Take today, for example. There were various difficulties throughout the day, but nothing harder than I had faced before. What made the day difficult was that I also was battling mental and physical fatigue that made me feel as if each new problem were three times as big as it was. On days like this, I have to make a constant, conscious effort not to let my emotions get the better of me. You see, God is glorified through a thankful heart. Luke 17 tells about when the ten lepers came to Jesus to be healed. He did heal them, but only one came back to thank Him. This is how Jesus describes the man's thankful attitude: "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God save this stranger." (v.18) Jesus Himself said that the man's thankfulness gave glory to God.

Here's where this gets personal: a peevish or downcast attitude is really the fruit of an unthankful heart. As the popular saying goes, there's always something to be thankful for. In fact, we are commanded to be thankful for everything. Ephesians 5:20 puts it this way:

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"


That's pretty all-encompassing, isn't it? That means I have the duty to be thankful for everything --including all the things I may feel I have the right to be grumpy about.

3.  Relationships

John 17 has been called Jesus' "High-Priestly Prayer". In it, He prays for His disciples as well as those who would be saved because of their witness (i.e., us!) In verses 22-23, He mentions how the glory of God affects our relationships.

"And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world will know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." 

First of all, the glory of God is given that believers may be unified. That means that as we earnestly pursue Christlikeness, we will be in harmony one with another, as God the Father is in harmony with Christ, God the Son. That doesn't mean that others have to condone my sin, or that I have to condone the sin of others, because, as we have already mentioned, sin does not glorify God. We do, however, follow after holiness with the same humility that led Christ to put aside His "rights" as God and endure what was necessary to restore those who were trapped in sin. The same way, God calls us to lay aside our "rights" and be willing to "live peaceably with all men" as much as possible without condoning sin. (Romans 12:18)

Similarly, we are to humbly seek to share the truth of Christ's payment for sin with those who are lost. I appreciate the way Jude puts it: "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh". A focus on glorifying God will change how we see the lost. We will see them as God sees them: prisoners of sin and death, heading for a fiery eternity, needing to be pulled from the flames before it's too late. We are to hate the sin that sends men to hell, seeking to keep ourselves unspotted, lest our hypocrisy becomes the stumblingblock that keeps a soul from accepting God's gift of salvation. If we are focused on God's glory, our lives will be marked by consistency between truth and action.

These are just a few of the areas of our lives that will be affected by a focus on the glory of God, but it is enough to cause me to take a long, hard look at myself and ask whether I am truly seeking to glorify God, or whether I am more motivated to seek my own glory by serving self.

So whose glory are you really seeking?

Choosing Rest in the Midst of Chaos

Have you ever had a week where you feel like you've fallen flat on your face spiritually?

The week before last, I had much to accomplish, and several definite deadlines to meet, as well as several extra projects that walked in --all on a week which I knew would end in a busier-than-usual weekend. I felt overwhelmed and got to the point where I was even having trouble processing new tasks and information. My to-do list was getting longer by the minute, and I couldn't even think through what needed to be done next!

Now, if you've read my post on When Life Gets Busy, you know that I knew exactly how to handle this busy season. I had all the spiritual tools I needed, and I had God Himself to help me meet the challenging week with grace and peace in calm efficiency, but did I?

Nope.

With every item added to my schedule I could feel the stress building up inside me, and although I knew how I should have handled it, I gave in and let myself feel hurried and frazzled as if it was all up to me to get everything done.

The old simile of a headless chicken seems very applicable...

Anyway, the whole week continued about the same way, and all the while the Holy Spirit was whispering an invitation to come and rest. -Not to ignore my responsibilities and give up, but to choose to rest on the inside while outwardly working to complete my necessary tasks.

You see, as much as we need physical rest (or maybe more!) we need to rest spiritually. Often, that means getting away by ourselves and taking the time with the Lord to reset ourselves, refreshing our spirits through God's Word and prayer.

However, we can't spend every minute in our prayer closets, and that is why we need to learn to rest in the Lord internally, no matter how chaotically life is swirling around us.

How can we do this? First of all, by remembering the truths of God's Word as they apply to our busy seasons. Psalm 119:165 says: "Great peace have they that love Thy Law and nothing shall offend them". God's Word can give us that extra motivation we need to get past that moment of reaction to a new stress. When another item was added to my list, I should have remembered that God's Word says that everything He allows in my life is for a purpose, and for my good.

That brings us to the second way we can choose rest: submission to the truths we know about God. Remembering that God means everything for my good isn't enough. In the swirling chaos of that busy week, I knew that God never makes mistakes and that He had a good purpose for the busy-ness He was allowing, but I chose not to submit to that truth. Submission to truth requires that I give up my "right" to feel that I am a victim, or that what God has allowed is somehow unfair or more than is reasonable. Submission to that truth also meant I could not congratulate myself on how well I was responding to the difficulties I was facing, or complain to others of how hard my week was.

Honestly, sometimes I just want to be grumpy, but that's not what God wants. Submission to God's truth is a surrender not just to the reality of that truth as it concerns God and His doings, but also to what that truth means about me and my attitude.

Isaiah 26:3 says:  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee"

The key to choosing internal rest is to remember and submit to the reality of who God is and what He expects from me in response to that which He has allowed for my good.

--A footnote for those who wonder if it really makes a difference: since that busy week, I have had another even busier, but this time I did choose to rest in the Lord, and not only was I at peace inside, I was able to stay on top of my tasks and finish everything on my list earlier than I would have thought possible!

God's way always works!