Isaiah the Prophet saw a vision. In that vision, he saw God’s throne room. One small part of what he saw was the angelic beings above the throne called Seraphim. “And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3, NASB95) At that proclamation, the foundations shook and the temple filled with smoke.
I want to focus on the last phrase of the Seraphim’s proclamation – The whole earth is full of His glory. It doesn’t mean that everything we see is God or glorifies God. But that God’s glory is visibly present if we just have eyes to see it.
The easiest way to open our eyes to God’s glory is to stop looking at ourselves. Right now, it is raining outside, ruining some of my plans for today. Where’s God’s glory in that? But the same rain that keeps me inside also waters the corn and soybeans surrounding our home. What is a pain to me is a boon to the farmers as their crops complete their maturity.
God’s glory is more than just seeing the so-called silver lining to every storm. It is seeing the many ways that God’s glory is reflected in billions of small and seemingly insignificant ways.
Consider both the tenacity and the fragility of life. Life does tend to find a way. Our gravel driveway testifies to that. It is an inhospitable rocky place that excels at growing weeds. And yet life can be instantly gone. I was reminded of that when a past student of mine was killed in an auto accident last week. That tension between life’s tenacity and fragility radiates God’s glory.
A new telescope recently began to show us more of the vast universe around us with greater detail than ever before. The awe and wonder of those pictures are indescribable, and yet what the photos show has been there all along. We just couldn’t see it. The same can be said of God’s glory. Just because we can’t see it right now in this moment of our life doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.
Our invitation today is to ask. If you’re in a lifeless place that seems dark and useless, ask God to show you His glory. Ask Him to reveal His glory in this moment and place. Seek ways to look outside of yourself. Knock for the door of God’s glory to be opened. As Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8, NASB95)
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All Glory around