Seeing God’s Glory
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Habakkuk 2:14
This is the promised future, but it’s hard to see hope through all the darkness. Like a dimmer switch gradually flooding a room with light, so God’s glory - the weight of His presence - is on a trajectory of becoming increasingly visible over time. Our eyes haven’t adjusted fully, but He’s given us glimpses of glory from the very beginning, proof that there’s still more to come.
God’s glory in creation
“The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Psalm 19:1
Study and enjoy nature as a way to see His glory.
God’s glory in action
“Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory’...
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed,
‘the LORD, the LORD,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
but who will by no means clear the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation’.”
Exodus 33:18; 34;6,7
Look at God’s actions toward humanity to see His glory.
God’s glory in visions
Centuries after Moses lived, the prophet Ezekiel sees “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.”
Ezekiel 1:28.
He attempts to express this vision of glory, like…well,…kind of…
“A great cloud with brightness all around it…” 1:4
“The likeness of four living creatures…they had human likeness, but each had four faces,
and each of them had four wings…And the living creatures darted to and fro,
like the appearance of a flash of lightning.” 1:5-14
“I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them…
their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl…as it were, a wheel within a wheel…
and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around…
Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them,
for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” 1:15-21
“Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse,
shining like awe-inspiring crystal…
above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne,
in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne
was a likeness with a human appearance…” 1:22-28
Let the inexplicable aspects of God’s glory move you to worship.
But it doesn’t end here. Thankfully, God kept pulling back the curtain on His glory, and we’ll step behind that veil next week.
Conspiracy Theories
How many of them have surfaced on the heels of this weekend?
Conspiracy theories are tempting to speculate about and hide behind when the unexpected strikes. We run to them in desperation for their secret knowledge and inside information like bunkers for our fears, shelters for our vulnerabilities, and safe-houses for our futures. It’s an attempt to make brokenness manageable and explainable.
We think that constructing some sort of explanation for what’s “really” going on, prevents our falling prey to what we dread, and we pride ourselves on making discoveries that keep us from being gullible and victimized like everyone else.
Certainly, there’s a place for detectives and investigators doing admirable work in the world to get to the bottom of crimes, but even they have limitations and fallacies. So where do we turn for refuge when even the professionals might not have the whole picture? I love God’s instruction to Isaiah thousands of years ago, because it sounds like He could have said it yesterday:
“For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He will become a sanctuary…”
Isaiah 8:12-14a.
Here are my takeaways:
Finding conspiracy in everything is not the way for God’s people to live.
Living according to a conspiracy theory is honoring it as holy.
The LORD is the safe source for my fear and dread.
The LORD of hosts is the self-existent, covenant-keeping Commander of heaven’s armies, more powerful and true than breaking news.
Stand firm,
Cherith
So Creepy
When we lived overseas, we learned the hard way that what makes you more susceptible to being car-jacked is if you’re sitting in your parked car in broad daylight. These facts leave you vulnerable:
The setting can be clearly evaluated in the sunlight: no one else is nearby.
You have keys to the vehicle you’re sitting in: the get-away will be easy.
You obviously don’t know better: the target is naive.
We couldn’t be totally immune to this threat ever happening to us again, but we could be on guard once we knew what made us vulnerable. And the same is true in our faith.
I’m creeped out by the words of 2 Timothy 3:5-7, “…Avoid such people. For among them are those that creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”
After describing the type of people who creep into homes with false content, Paul points out three characteristics that weakened the women’s faith, making them easy targets for creepers. They were:
Carrying sin around. A burden as heavy as unconfessed sin leaves us without strength under the weight of its accusations. But repentance releases us (1 John 1:9).
Controlled by pleasure. Shackled to every whim and desire, we’re dragged one way and then the other in search of the next comfort. But the Spirit is stronger (Galatians 5:16).
Constantly learning, but never concluding. Content consumption is just spinning mental wheels if it doesn’t lead to or align with conclusive truth. But the Word is the source of real life-change (John 17:17).
Let’s not learn the hard way.
Playlists & Podcasts
Whether I’m working out or washing dishes, I’m motivated by music and by insightful conversations. Maybe you are too, so I thought I’d share a few songs that have been filling my heart with worship lately:
Love of God, Brandon Lake and Phil Whickham (how can I pick just one of theirs?!)
Holy Forever, Jenn Johnson
Lead Me On, Chandler Moore
Daily Bread, Pat Barrett and Kari Jobe
Prince of Peace, Josh Baldwin
Thank you Jesus for the Blood, Charity Gayle
…and some of my favorite podcasts:
Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast for anyone leading people in some way.
The Graham Cochrane Show for anyone who owns a business or wants to start one.
Don’t miss this three-part interview! Jennie Allen and Jamie Winship:
Part 1: Conflict Zones, the CIA, and Listening to God
Part 2: Why are you Afraid?
Part 3: Finding Freedom from Fear
I hope one of these resources moves you to worship more fully with all that you are today!
How to Make Yourself at Home
I’ve just followed God’s people through the book of Jeremiah into their tragic exile in Babylon. They had rejected God’s word and ignored His intervention, unwilling to change their ways, and so the consequences God had warned them about, finally came. Their deportation occurred in waves over the course of 17 years as hundreds or thousands of them at a time were taken captive (Jeremiah 52:28-30).
How they must have mourned all that they lost. A move itself is difficult enough emotionally and spiritually, but a move as divine judgment could have clothed them in sackcloth and ashes for the rest of their lives. They could have justifiably lived in their new location in a perpetual state of grief and disconnection, veiled in black and living in the past. But the most shocking thing about this discipline for their sin is God’s four-fold instruction to them regarding their new home:
“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.
Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,
and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:5-7
His message is essentially, Make yourself at home, and here’s how to do it.
At the end of this summer, Nate and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage. Over those years, we’ve lived in 4 states, 1 foreign country, and 9 apartments or houses along the way. That’s certainly not a record, but it’s more moves than I imagined for our family. Although none of our relocations happened for reasons like Judah’s all those millennia ago, the four-fold strategy God gave His people back then has served us well each time we’ve found ourselves in a new place:
Don’t live out of boxes. Unpack, decorate, garden, and live each day with a long-term mindset, rather than a temporary one. A temporary mindset is tempting, because it’s self-protection against the effort involved in starting over and the pain of eventual departure. But tears about leaving are better than cheers that you’re leaving.
Cultivate and celebrate new beginnings. Build deep enough relationships in the new place that you throw wedding showers and baby showers. God’s type of love multiplies, so with Him, you have enough love to keep giving.
Sarcasm about the new place or comparison to the last place delays your adjustment and denies God’s leadership. Instead, make it a better place because of your presence there with the experiences and insights you bring to it. Contribute to its good; don’t tear it down.
When you pray, include the geographical place where you live. Its peace will be your peace. Prayer softens our hearts, and that’s the change God is really after in His plan for our peace.