Give God the Glory
“I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.” Psalm 86:12
“That’s one of the things I love about you,” a friend told me one day, “You always give God the glory.”
My answer was immediate. I don’t remember my exact words, but the gist of it is my heart. “How could I not give God the glory? It all belongs to Him. That’s why I want to humble myself before Him. Because I know I am nothing.” He is everything!
It’s amazing how many times I’ve heard church pastors lead their congregations in prayer, saying this: “…And we promise God to give you the glory, honor, and praise. Amen!”
But if the truth be told, how many of us really do give God the glory for everything good? How often in reality do we steal the glory from Him, crediting ourselves instead for our accomplishments, successes, victories, blessings, etc., as though we are worthy and deserving of it all, as though we have labored hard and earned it? Do we not live in a world that is riddled with self-centeredness, with pride and arrogance, with patting ourselves on the backs, gloating over the accolades we receive, boasting about our accomplishments, seeking praise, honor, and glory from the world around us? Do we not so often take credit for stuff?
For so very long, that’s exactly what I did. I took credit for the glory that belonged to God. Now I know the truth. Everything good is from God (James 1:17), and He deserves EVERY ounce of glory for it! How dare I take what belongs to Him! Now I LOVE to brag about my Father in heaven. I LOVE to give Him praise. I LOVE to glorify Him. I LOVE to tell the world about Him. I LOVE to tell people how AWESOME and AMAZING HE is. I love to tell people I am NOTHING and to exalt and magnify HIS name, pointing them to God and the Lord Jesus Christ!
I get lots of encouragement and words of praise from people because of the lifestyle I live, forsaking all and following Jesus as I devote my life 24-7 to the Lord and ministry. With a heart for people in dire straits from the homeless to those on death row and countless others, along with caring for special needs and senior rescued dogs, and a heart overflowing with Christ’s love, I regularly hear people tell me how special I am. I absolutely LOVE to tell them it’s NOT ME, I am NOTHING. It’s Jesus Christ in me, and Christ through me. It’s God’s love, grace, mercy, compassion, strength, the gifts He’s given me like writing and speaking, etc. I once sought people’s praise because I was so insecure and sought validation. I don’t need validation anymore. My security is in Christ, and ALL PRAISE, ALL HONOR, and ALL GLORY are His!
Give God ALL glory!