In today’s suffering, do you ache to see God’s glory and beauty (Ps. 27:4)? Are you like Moses, praying, “Please show me Your glory” (Ex. 33:18) because you’re traveling an unknown and heavy road? Are you begging to see a glimmer of His dazzling bright light in today’s darkness?
Beloved in Christ, what’s actually true about the Lord’s unchanging glory, even as we’re suffering?
How can we see God’s beauty, light, and His magnificent and weighty glory in this hard time?
Let’s pray together, asking God to show us His glory through Scripture as we fix our gaze upon Him, seeking “the things that are above” (Col. 3:1).
Show me Your glory in creation
Can you see anything beautiful in nature today? Last week, God gifted me with the most breathtaking rainbow and sunset, bringing these Scriptures to mind. Sometimes suffering brings doubt to us…and then He graciously answers our prayers to see His glorious light breaking into our darkness, through something only our glorious Creator can do in nature.
“The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1).
Because He is majestically glorious, beautiful, and radiant, God’s creation shines His glory. Where can you see His glory in His created handiwork today?
O how great thy lovingkindness,
vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness
lavished all on me!
(“Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting,” Pigott, J. S., 1876)
Show me Your glory today, in Jesus
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6, emphasis added).
We CAN see His glory …in Jesus (Jn. 1:14), Emmanuel, Who’s always, always with us by His indwelling Spirit (Jn. 14:27). Please show me Your glory, Lord!
“And as [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white” (Lk. 9:29 ESV).
As they were killing Stephen, he saw it! What great comfort as Scriptures reveal what’s currently invisible to our eyes. Can you see His glory?
“But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts. 7:55 ESV).
Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold thee as thou art,
and thy love, so pure, so changeless,
satisfies my heart;
satisfies its deepest longings,
meets, supplies its ev’ry need,
compasseth me round with blessings:
thine is love indeed.
Show me Your transforming work in me as I see Your glory
What’s even more cool is that God is transforming us AS we behold His glory, because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He’s making us more and more holy, like our beloved Savior, by His Spirit.
Today.
In today’s suffering.
Our glorious and beautiful Lord is at work in us today.
Jesus, I am resting, resting
in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee,
as thy beauty fills my soul,
for by thy transforming power,
thou hast made me whole.
Show me Your glory to come, in Jesus
One day, in the restored new heaven and earth, God’s glory will be all the light we need, through Christ! What wealth of His grace! This is His certain and promised hope and forever home for us as believers in Christ! Can you see His glory?
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved,
know what wealth of grace is thine,
know thy certainty of promise
and have made it mine.
“Through [Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2 ESV).
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Mt. 25:31 ESV).
Beloved fellow sufferer, hear Jesus praying for you and me:
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17:24 ESV).
So, today? Let’s see His glory in our mind’s eye, and rest in our glorious hope in Christ, as we walk through today’s hard.
Ever lift thy face upon me
as I work and wait for thee;
resting ‘neath thy smile, Lord Jesus,
earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
sunshine of my Father’s face,
keep me ever trusting, resting,
fill me with thy grace.
Show me Your glory as I praise Your glory in song
Let’s praise God for His glory this week, and see His glory as we sing to Him and to our hearts. I’m praying that His beauty and glorious light will fill our souls in the dark moments. This week’s playlist of songs gives us words to praise the Lord for His glory, His light, His beauty, and for Jesus in all of His glorious gospel work in our lives. If this would bless you, sign up here and I’ll send it to your email!
