Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.
Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.
Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.
PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined hope. This week we will compare and contrast Seeing the glory and Giving the glory. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”
PROMISE: John 11:4 Amplified Bible
When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death; but [on the contrary, it is] for the glory and honor of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.
Even trials come to glorify God and provide an opportunity for us to give God glory and to see and experience the Glory of God.
PSALM: Jesus the Very Thought of Thee (Early 12th Century) By: Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153)
As Thou our prize will be;
Jesus, be Thou our glory now,
And through eternity.
It is easier to give God glory when we are experiencing joy. It is challenging to give God glory when we are experiencing grief and trials. Over the last few years, as grief has become my travel companion and visited me as if we had a shared vacation agreement, I have often sought God’s glorious presence to clear my mind of sorrowful thoughts and open my heart to His healing love.
Yet, I have to admit that I have not always given Him glory and honor FOR the sorrow. While preparing for this blog, I had an aha moment. God’s glory and Giving glory are traveling companions. They share a space. I have been guilty or separating these privileges.
I desire to make giving GLORY an act of worship. This will entail me pairing giving God glory and encountering His Glory as partners (the same way I acknowledge grace and mercy as partners). Whether this is an old concept, you need a reminder, or if it is a new one, I need to illuminate the truth for my own sake.
The more we practice seeking His Presence, the more we receive the presents of His being– such as joy, peace, love, compassion, and hope. As we receive His Presence, we offer Him Glory. This allows the cycle of giving God glory to continue. I realize that if I reframe my perspective that when trials and temptations occur in my life and when grief visits me again (and it will) that my default will be to glorify God in the circumstance and then receive His Glory as a result of glorifying His being!
Because Jesus IS the GLORY of God, He deserves the GLORY regardless of our circumstances. I now see this as a spiritual equation. Give God Glory = Experiencing God glory. Are giving God glory and experiencing God’s glory synonymous in your life?
PONDER and WANDER: If you choose, take time to ponder these questions: Do I seek to give God glory and experience God’s glory? Have these been a both/and in your life or an either/or?
Soul care training exercise: If you would like to move Giving God Glory and Experiencing God glory into a synonymous act of worship in your life, I invite you to complete the below G.L.O.R.Y. soul training exercise.
- First, Give God glory because He deserves it regardless of your circumstance.
- Next, Let His presence fill you.
- Then, Offer your praise and worship for His Presence.
- Now, Receive His joy, hope, peace, and compassion.
- Finally surrender your Yes to the process.
PRAYER: Lord of Glory, forgive me for oftentimes seeking to experience your Presence without offering you the Present of giving you glory. I desire to encounter you in my giving your glory and in your being the Glory! In your loving name I pray, Amen.
PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to breathe in His Glory for His Presence is with you and let the work of your wandering fill you with hope.
Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.
Until next time, be Resonant.
The post See the Glory Give the glory appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions:
Pixaby with added texts
BONUS REFLECTION: GLORY guided meditation. If you choose click below and take five minutes to experience the GLORY guided meditation.
Scott says
Your guidance and encouragement to find God in every moment is such a blessing! It always resonates in my soul and increases my awareness that He is closer than my breath. Thank you dear friend!