Tag: God’s Glory

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow

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Oswald Chambersby Oswald Chambers

…what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this hour”? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” —John 12:27-28

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.

by Oswald Chambers

Spontaneous Worship

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David Wilkersonby David Wilkerson

“Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” (Exodus 34:8).

The revelation of God’s nature overwhelmed Moses when he saw how merciful, long-suffering and patient our Father is with his children — even the stiff-necked ones who grieve him.

It’s important to note that this is the first mention of Moses ever worshiping. Prior to this revelation of God’s glory, Moses tearfully prayed and interceded for Israel and even talked with God face to face. But this is the first time we read the words, “[Moses] worshiped.”

This tells us much about the church today. Christians can pray diligently without ever really worshiping; indeed, it’s possible to be a prayer warrior and intercessor and still not be a worshiper. Worship cannot be learned, it is a spontaneous outbreak — the act of a heart that’s been overwhelmed by a revelation of God’s glory and his incredible love for us.

Worship is a response of gratitude that recognizes how we should have been destroyed by our sin long ago, incurring the full wrath of God for all our failures. But, instead, God came to us with the powerful revelation, “I still love you!”

At this point in scripture, Moses was no longer pleading for sinful Israel and he wasn’t asking the Lord for guidance. He wasn’t even crying out for a miracle of deliverance or for power or wisdom. He was marveling at the revelation of the glory of God!

The revelation of God’s glory should be the wellspring of all our worship. We should regularly lay claim to his glory; it is our assigned right and it is meant to be claimed. When Paul says, “I do not set aside the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21), he means, “I won’t nullify God’s offer of mercy by rejecting it.” Those who truly worship God claim the blessing of his promises and see the glory of his love in Christ.

Lay hold of God’s glory today and allow him to guide you into a new revelation of worship.

by David Wilkerson