Giving Glory

09.06.13

Revelation 11:13 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (ESV)

It’s one thing to glorify God; it’s another to give Him glory. Glorifying God is even a stretch because God is glorious with or without us. God doesn’t need us to bring Him glory because He is completely glorious whether we’re in the picture or not. Not arrogance or unconcern on His part; He simply is who He is with or without us.

So, in Revelation 11, these two witnesses show up and have unbelievable power to control nature and their enemy’s response to them. It’s a pretty safe bet that they’re a thorn in most everyone’s side. And so, it’s not surprise that they have to be taken out by a satanic power in order to stop their thorniness toward mankind. Everybody hates a party-pooper; that’s why we invited you!

Whew! The heat’s off and these two colossal troublemakers die at the hands (or commands) of Satan himself. And the party begins. (When the Church loses her effectiveness, the party always begins.) But then something amazing happens: the two messengers are resurrected! Now what!? And they are summoned to Heaven and a great earthquake takes place. Seven thousand people die in the earthquake and John’s narrative says: And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The implication is this was an act of God.

Remarkably, in our present secular age where the belief is there is no God (except for the one of one’s own making), that we still use the phrase: Act of God. And by doing so, we give God glory. Giving God glory doesn’t mean salvation. It doesn’t even mean belief; it means giving credit where credit is due. The people in Revelation 11 give God credit for the earthquake and maybe even the two witnesses, but they don’t give God their hearts. They give God credit, or glory, for something they can’t otherwise explain.

I laid awake in bed for a while this morning (around 3:30 am) dreading the impending implementation of the government’s latest attempt at controlling heath-care. The bottom line is, I can’t afford it. So, in my uncomfortable-ness with government healthcare, I'm attempting to trust God to provide a solution. Financially or otherwise.

And here is what I thought: either He’ll provide for me and I’ll learn something and be blessed, or He won’t provide anything but grace and I’ll learn something and be blessed. Trusting God for healthcare is just as easy (or hard) as to trust Him for anything else. That both gives God glory, and glorifies His holy Name. As His child, I am to do both: given Him glory because He is God and I am not; and to glorify His Name by praising Him for His goodness to me and believing in His promise to me: [Paul] I will neither leave you nor forsake you. So [I] can confidently say, “ The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13...)

Lord, in all things too big for me (which covers just about everything) I give You glory that You are glorious, and I glorify Your Name that You are my God and my Helper in time of need (which is pretty much all the time). May I rest in Your promise and trust You to provide – Amen.