Longing for the Glory of God

“Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for, to be overcome in Your Presence, Lord.”  (Francesca Battistelli, “Holy Spirit”).

This song is one of my new favorites—I can’t stop listening to it this summer, ever since we sang it at a church we visited in California. However, this week on one of my drives to work, I heard this song and the line above caught my attention in a new way. 

Is God’s glory what my heart longs for?

I think of Moses in Exodus chapter 33, when he requests of God, “Show me your glory,” (verse 18). 

He desired to know the glory of God. 

He wanted to SEE the glory of God. 

His heart’s desire was FOR the glory of God.

So the question I had to ask myself this week, is that MY heart’s desire?

I think also of Psalm 37:4, which says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (The verses after this verse are also excellent, by the way, and some of my favorites!) When I think about my heart’s desires, I come to this verse. It encourages me when I’m discouraged by life. But the truth that this verse always reminds me of is this: The desires of our heart come AFTER we delight ourselves in the Lord. Not the other way around. 

Which brings me to my next thought…When we are delighting ourselves in the Lord, then I believe our heart’s desires will be for HIS will, for His plans. 

For His GLORY.

So what does my heart long for?

My own plans? My own happiness? My own success? 

Or maybe something more than that, maybe my heart longs for love? For good to triumph over evil?

As I think over the song mentioned at the beginning of this post, my prayer has become that my heart would long for the glory of God. That I would desire His glory, more than anything else.

Because honestly, isn’t He the only one worthy of glory?! He is worthy of our praises, worthy of all glory!

So may my heart’s desire, my heart’s longing, be for the glory of God. 

And may it be your heart’s longing, as well.

Overflow

An ancient Indian proverb says this: "Whatever you are overflowing with will spill out when you're bumped." 

I realized just how true that saying is within the past few weeks... 

picture from google images

I found out that I would be spending some time with a person who has aggravated me in the past, and who tends to rub me the wrong way. 

To put it another way: I was bumped. 

I picture a tall glass filled with some sort of liquid. The glass is a dark color, dark enough that you cannot see through it to see what is inside. How do you find out what it's filled with? 

It gets bumped. It gets shaken. It gets disturbed.

Whatever it is filled with comes out, spilling over the sides. 

I think the same happens to us when we are bumped, when we are annoyed, when we are aggravated... Whatever we are filled with tends to start coming out. 

I think of Matthew 12:33-35 (NIV), which says, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." 

The AMP version of verse 34 says this: "...For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks." 

Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. 

What is your heart full of? Because whatever it is filled with, that is what will come out when you're bumped. 

I realized how true that is over the past few weeks. Ouch. What a convicting realization. 

Because when I was bumped, it wasn't patience or kindness that spilled out. Instead, I spilled out impatience, and annoyance. 

Oh Father, forgive me. 

My prayer became that my heart would overflow with thanksgiving, love, and kindness... and that is still my prayer!! I know that the overflow of my heart should be God-honoring, and I know that I cannot change my heart on my own.. 

Father, mold me, shape me, and change me so that the overflow of my heart will be honoring to You. So that when I am bumped, love spills out. So that more than anything, I will be filled with You: Your Love and Your Light. 

I'm realizing and re-learning (again!) how important our hearts are, and how careful we need to be to guard them.

"Above all else, guard your heart, 
for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

Out of the overflow of the heart... 

What does your heart overflow with? If you're not sure, just wait and see the next time you're "bumped" what comes out, and you might have your answer. 

I know I got mine, and what a convicting answer it was. 

Thank God for His forgiveness and His grace, and His willingness to help us, to shape us into His image-bearers, to not leave us where He found us. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). Praise God! 

So may the overflow of our hearts be filled with God's love and kindness, and with thanksgiving, so much so that THAT is what spills out the next time we are bumped.

That is my prayer. 

...led me here to this

"Thank God for all I missed, Cause it led me here to this." (Darius Rucker, This) 

This line has been running through my head this week, ever since hearing it on the radio while driving. 

Sometime I get so caught up in thinking and comparing and contrasting. I wonder why I've missed out on experiences that others have had, I wonder why my current life doesn't look a lot like my peers', I wonder why, I wonder why, and I wonder why... 

I keep asking God the "Why?" question, over and over again. One of my great friends is a mom to an awesome 3 year old boy, whose favorite question at the moment is "Why?" He wants to know the reason behind everything, and he asks the "why" question over and over again. I imagine that a lot of times when I am talking to God, I sound like my friend's son. 

"Why, God? Why is ____ (fill in the blank) happening? Or why isn't ______ (fill in the blank again) happening?" My why questions could go on and on. 

I know that God is in control, and that He is good, all the time. But sometimes I have a hard time putting that knowledge into practice, a hard time choosing to trust in God's timing and not in my own. 

And sometimes, God uses a country song to remind me how blessed I am, right here and right now. He uses a country song to remind me that although maybe I feel like I'm "missing out" on things, His timing and His plans are better. 

Whatever things I've missed in the past, whatever things I might be missing now in this stage of life, I can be confident that none of it is out of God's hands, and He will use it for His glory and my good (Romans 8:28). 

As I think through things that I'm "missing" now, I am grateful. Grateful because I trust in the God who knows me better than I know myself (Psalm 139), the God who knows my thoughts, knows my comings and my goings, and knows what is indeed best for me. I might not know the answers to my "why" questions, but I know that my Heavenly Father is caring for me. He hears every prayer, He sees every tear, and He knows what is best. He will lead and He will provide. 

I think about the things I am currently praying for, and the "why" questions I am wondering about, and I think about the things I've prayed about in the past, and another song comes to mind: "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks, specifically the chorus. 

The chorus says this: 

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." 

picture from google images

Now, I have to clarify, I don't think that God leaves prayers unanswered. I believe He ALWAYS answers. But I do believe that many times His answers are a "No," and sometimes the no's feel like unanswered prayers. I think that is what the song above is referencing. I stumbled upon a quote that fits in with this: "I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered." -Jean Ingelow 

How different my life would look today if God said yes to all my prayers... and I don't think it would necessarily look different in a good way. So often my prayers can be selfish, and prayed out of my tiny perspective, instead of praying for God's better and bigger perspective. Praise God that He knows best! 

So as I sit here tonight, thinking about the "unanswered prayers" or the "no's," and about the things that I feel like maybe I'm missing, I am choosing to be grateful. 

Thank God for the things that I've missed, because He has led me here to this: a place in my life where only He could have brought me. A place with many joys, and yes, sorrows too, but He is good. And He is enough. 

Thank God for the "unanswered" prayers, because by His saying no He is leading me to something better, whether that is something now or later on down the road. He knows best, and His timing is better than mine. I trust in His guidance, and I trust that He is good. 

"You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11 AMP 

Endless Echoes

"If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?" (Anonymous) 

The words I've said in anger, in fear, in jealousy flit through my mind... 

The harsh things I've spoken to others, or the gossip I've shared, come to mind... 

The things that have popped into my thoughts and out of my mouth, before I stopped to think, return to memory... 

Words can be a weapon. They are powerful, and they have the capacity to harm, to destroy. 

Words can wound, scar, and inflict pain. 

If the words you spoke started appearing on your skin, would you still be beautiful? Or would the words coming from you make you unattractive, dirty? 

I picture seeing the words I've said start surfacing on my hands, my arms, my face... 
Bold, black writing spreading and covering my skin with the words that I've uttered.  

How would you feel, seeing the words you've spoken written out on your skin? 
Would you be ashamed? Angry at yourself? Regretful? Or would you be proud of what you've said? 

Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, admonished and encouraged the Ephesians to be careful with their speech. He says in Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." 

As I think about the words that I say, I realize that I need to ask myself three things: 

1) Is my speech unwholesome? Or is it Christ-honoring? 
2) Is my speech building others up, or tearing them down?
3) Does my speech benefit those around me who hear what I say?

I know the things I say fall short. SO. OFTEN. 

I think of Jesus' words in Matthew 12, when He said "For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks," (Matthew 12:34, AMP) and I realize that my words are connected to my heart. Out of the overflow of my heart come my words. 

I don't just have a tongue problem; I have a heart problem. I can't just address the words coming out of my mouth, I also have to address the attitudes of the heart that are bringing about the words. 

I picture my words written across my skin, for everyone to see. The unkind words I said to someone, the insult I threw at someone in anger, the words I've said intended to wound, the things said when I was irritated. And I think of the attitudes of my heart that brought about those words: the bitterness, jealousy, or pride. 

I see those attitudes, in the form of my words, covering my skin. 

I picture that, and I'm not proud. 

I'm convicted. Convicted of the things I've said that I shouldn't have, and convicted to strive to be careful with my words. To speak kindly, to hold my tongue, to only murmur words in love. Convicted to have an attitude of the heart that is pleasing to the King. 

Instead of my words being weapons, I want them to be a honeycomb, "sweet to the soul and healing to the bones," (Proverbs 16:24) 

Words are powerful. 

They have the ability to build up or tear down. 
They have the potential to harm, to inflict pain, or to bring healing, to bring life. 

Every word you say has that power. And once you say something, you cannot take it back, no matter how badly you might want to. Once it is off your tongue and out of your mouth, it is out there to stay. There are no "take-back's!" when it comes to our speech. 

And unfortunately, our negative words are like weapons--tearing down others and destroying them. It can take many, many positive words to cancel out just ONE negative.

Our words have power: power to kill or to give life. 

When you choose your words, what will they do? 

I pray that my heart would be fixed on Christ, and that my words would be gracious, kind, and beneficial to those around me--and that they would glorify Christ. That is my goal, and that is what I want to strive for, with God's help. 

I want to speak in such a way that if all of the words I utter appeared on my skin, there would be nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to regret. 

I want my words to speak of my love for the Lord, and to speak life into those around me. 

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." -Mother Teresa 

What kind of echo are your words leaving? 

The Father's Love

"How great the Father's love for us, that we should be called children of God!" 

picture from google images

The other night I watched a Francis Chan video (one from his "Forgotten God" series that goes along with the book). Chan talked about God's love, and how it is a Father's love. 

Chan then shared about his own four children, and described how he interacts a little differently with each of them. He shows them his love in individual ways, in the ways that will mean the most to each of them. For example, his oldest daughter is in high school, and the way that she feels the most loved is when her dad sits down and just listens to her. Contrastingly, Chan's younger son feels the most loved when his dad wrestles and roughhouses with him. 

As their father, Chan greatly loves each of his children, and he doesn't have a favorite between them. The way he shows his love for each of them varies, though, as each of his children are unique individuals and have different personalities and likes/dislikes. Just because he shows them his love in varying ways does not mean that he loves them differently, or one more than another. He just lavishes his love on each of them in the way that will mean the most. 

Isn't God's love the same way? 1 John 3:1 says "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are made part of the family of God--God adopts us into His own family. Romans 8:15 says that "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” We are brought into the family of God, brought into sonship. Through Christ, we have the privilege to call God our Father. What a gift! 

As I was thinking about the Father's love for us, I realized that His love for each of us is shown in various ways too, just as Chan shows his children his love in individual ways. God created each of us to be unique and one-of-a-kind, and He gave us different gifts and talents. Our Abba Father loves each of His children--He lavishes His love on us--and the greatest way He shows us His love is through the gift of salvation paid for with Christ's blood. 

I also think, however, that God shows us His love in individual ways. As our Father, He knows each of us personally and intimately. He knows me better than anyone else does or ever will, and because of that I believe that He knows how to love me better than anyone else will ever be able to. He created me, knitting me together in my mother's womb (Psalm 139), He adopted me (Ephesians 1:5), and He is with me always (Hebrews 13:5). I believe that God shows me His love in ways that will mean the most to me, because He knows me better than anyone, and loves me more than anyone else. 

God knows what is best for me, and how to best love me. His love is true, holy, and great. Sometimes His love for me is shown through discipline, sometimes it is shown through those around me, sometimes it is shown through a song that touches my heart at the right time. His love is shown to us over and over again each day, through the grace He grants, through the gift of another day, through the faithfulness He displays. No matter how God lavishes His love on you or me, we can be sure that His love will never fail (1 Corinthians 13, 1 Chronicles 16:34). 

How blessed we are to serve a God who is our Father--a Father who lavishes His love on us! He loves us as His children, dearly and completely. He loves us individually, uniquely, and with a love that we cannot comprehend. 

"How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure." 

Remember the Deeds

I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands,
    and I would not be comforted.

3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
    the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
    Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
    Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

13 Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;
    the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,

    the heavens resounded with thunder;
    your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
    your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

                                                                   -PSALM 77 (NIV) 

I read this chapter of Psalms this week, and I realized how much I like it. The author starts off in a dark place, wondering why God isn't answering, wondering if He would never show His favor again (v. 7), wondering if He had forgotten to be merciful (v. 9), and on the author goes, questioning the Lord's character. 

Then about halfway through the Psalm, a change happens, and the perspective shifts. Instead of continuing to ask questions about God's character (and if it has changed or not), the author begins to remember the "deeds of the Lord," (verse 11). 

The author remembers that God's ways are "holy," (v. 13), and that He is "the God who performs miracles," (v. 14). He remembers that God, with His mighty arm, redeemed the descendants of Jacob and Joseph (v. 15). The author continues on, remembering God's power over all creation (v. 16-19). 

The part of this Psalm that sticks out to me the most is the shift from negativity to positivity, the shift from questioning God's character to praising Him through remembering His deeds. 

"Remembering frames up gratitude," writes Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts. When we remember God's faithfulness and His deeds, we are shifting our focus off of our worries and anxieties and onto His caring love and kindness. "Is that why the Israelites kept recounting their past--to trust God for their future? Remembering is an act of thanksgiving, a way of thanksgiving, this turn of the heart over time's shoulder to see all the long way His arms have carried," (Voskamp, 152). 

"Remembering is an act of thanksgiving." 

I love that. When the author of Psalm 77 stopped his questioning and started remembering, he was shifting to gratitude. 

Gratitude changes everything. It changes your perspective, it changes your attitude, and it changes you. When we choose to remember the Lord's deeds of the past, His faithfulness, and His love, we are choosing to give thanks. 

"'Gratitude is the memory of the heart,' writes Jean Baptiste Massieu, but gratitude is not only the memories of our heart; gratitude is a memory of God's heart and to thank is to remember God... In memory, the shape of God's yesterday-heart emerges and assures of God's now-heart and reassures of His sure beat tomorrow," (Voskamp 152). 

Remembering God's goodness and faithfulness to us through our yesterdays helps us to remember that He is trustworthy and good today. And if we could trust His heart yesterday, and if we can trust Him today, then we can definitely trust Him tomorrow as well. Even through the storms, even through the dark times, He will be there, just like He was yesterday and every day prior. 

Like the Psalmist, will you choose to "remember the deeds of the LORD," (v. 11) today, and every day? I want to strive to do so each day, knowing that remembering His faithfulness is an act of thanksgiving. 

Choose to give thanks today. 

...to be a testimony

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking on the phone with a 93 year old Christian woman. What a humbling experience, and what a blessing!

My great-grandpa lived to be 92 years old, so any time I meet someone or talk with someone who is in their 90's I immediately think of my Grandpa Rudy, and my heart is touched. Yesterday was no exception.

I had the opportunity to ask this sweet lady if she had any prayer requests. Her answer astounded me!

Expecting an answer regarding her health, instead she asked for prayer that she would continue to be a testimony to those around her.

Ninety-three years old, asking for prayer that she would continue to be a testimony for Christ.

Not complaining about her age, or the way it limits her.

Not grumbling about aches and pains, of which I am sure she has many.

She could have asked for prayer for anything, but she asked that she would continue to live in a way that is a testimony to those around her.

I hung up the phone yesterday, convicted and blessed.

Convicted, because I know how often my focus is on my own struggles, my own pain, my own little world, instead of focusing on Christ and how I can be living as a light for Him.

Blessed, because what a gift it was to have that short conversation. What a gift to be reminded by her, unintentionally, that this life I live is not my own, but that I am here to be a testimony of God's grace, forgiveness, and love to those around me.

Since hanging up the phone, I haven't been able to get that conversation out of my head... because that's what I want.

I want that to be my prayer, too.

Not concerned with my own little world, my aches and pains, but concerned with how I can be a testimony to those around me.

It scares me, because I know that praying that sincerely means that God will lead me out of my comport zone. It won't always be fun, and it won't always feel safe, and sometimes it will hurt. But I know and believe with all my heart that it will be worth it, because Christ is enough and He is worth it.

Ninety-three years old, and her prayer request is to be a testimony to those around her.

Today, I'm joining her, praying that my life would be a testimony to those around me of God's grace, His unfailing love, His forgiveness, and His great faithfulness.

Will it be your prayer, too?