Transformed by Glory — Meadow Called Grace

Apr 27

Apr 27 Transformed by Glory

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”

— Romans 4:13

When I read this verse, my first inclination is to tell you that this is not my story of faith. I have had a long, tear filled journey with God and I’m ashamed that my journey has been dominated by periods of unbelief. My unbelief has caused me to waver concerning not only the promises of God but also in how I view His character. Sometimes, I shy away from sharing about the greatness of God because I fear people will look back on my tear stained years and want nothing to do with Him. Yet, I have experienced periods when I was strong in my daily worship of the glory of God and during that time I felt like I could do battle against anything that tried to shatter my faith. I want to get off the back and forth seesaw of faith and have this verse represent my story. As I wonder if this could ever be true for me, I am drawn to the word ‘GLORY.’

This is the part where I would typically reference the definition of a word. As I explore the word ‘glory,’ I know there isn’t one or even two ways that I can simply define this word for you. The Biblical word ‘glory’ has been translated from 12 different Hebrew and 8 different Greek words and is found in 371 verses. My mind can’t even begin to grasp the daunting task of an in-depth study of this word and then organizing that information in a way to fully present it to you. Instead, I want to conversationally explore this word as it relates to this verse and my faith.

My church has recently begun a study on The Story of Everything by Jared C. Wilson. The very first discussion questions related to the glory of God. The first observation is that our joy is connected to God’s glory. “The problem of loneliness and insignificance is a lack of glory. God’s glory fixes everything. It’s His plan for everything.” The second question and observations relate to worship. Is God prideful or maybe even a narcissist? Why does He want our worship? “God is not trying to prove Himself to anybody but only to show Himself as He is.” God does not ‘need’ our worship rather, we are the ones who benefit when we give ‘glory’ {worship, give weight to, honor} to Him. God desires our worship because He knows that is when we grow strong in our faith. When we worship God, we are reminded of who and all that He is.

“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 Corinthians 4:6

God longs to reveal Himself to to us; for us to have knowledge of His glory because His glory is the answer to all that we need. The Bible is filled with story after story in which God reveals his glory {splendor, majesty} to those who seek Him. When I worship God, when I give Him His rightful place in my life, His light shines through the tears and the darkness that tie me down. It’s during this time that it’s impossible to feel lonely or insignificant. The more time we spend with God, the more he reveals His glory, and the more your problems, fears, anxieties, etc. are shifted back into perspective in light of God. Worship strengthens our faith because it brings us into the presence of the glory of God and its His glory that transforms. This doesn’t mean that your circumstances will always change but how you view and live through them will change. This is an understanding that only comes with knowledge of the glory of God. God’s glory is revealing that my happiness is not dependent on how He answers my prayers or what direction my life moves in, but it is dependent on being in the presence of the glory of God. It’s this knowledge of His glory that He wants each of us to have.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

When we come to God simply as we are and give Him glory, He shows us His glory and in the very process transforms us to become more like Him. As I proclaim Romans 4:13 over my life, it will not be my seesaw faith that grows strong but His Spirit in me that strengthens me with a new faith like Jesus.

So what does it mean when those negative thoughts creep back in, because they most assuredly will? Romans 4:13 doesn’t say that we won’t have moments of unbelief, but it says that those moments will not sway us. I love that this verse takes into account our humanity! I always think back to the story of Abraham and Sarah. In their old age, God promises to make Abraham the Father of a great nation and while verses credit Abraham with believing, he and Sarah still took matters into their own hands, inevitably making things much worse. Sarah laughed at the idea and then lied about her disbelief. Yet, God showed Sarah grace and kept his promise and Abraham is mentioned twice in the book of Hebrews’ faith hall of fame. I like thinking of Sarah and Abraham, because I, too, have believed, and then have messed things up beyond measure with my impatience and lack of faith by taking things into my own hands. The story of Sarah and Abraham give me hope. I realize now that my lack of faith shouldn’t be the focus, rather I should focus on the lack of God’s glory in my life. I spent so many years focusing on my lack of faith. I was miserable and powerless to fix it. Isn’t amazing how we always find a way to make things about ourselves even when we think we are trying to focus on Him? I didn’t focus enough on the very thing that actually has the power to change me and my life: His glory. When Sarah and Abraham doubted God they didn’t let those doubts stop them from seeking God’s glory and believing in its power. Like Sarah and Abraham, I need to stop putting my hope in my faith but rather accept his grace and place my hope in His glory.