Devotional: Show Me Your Glory

Show Me Your Glory

When the Lord promised to make our heart His dwelling place, I'm not sure we fully grasped the significance. There was a time when God was unseen and untouchable. Yet now the promise is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." But this wasn't always the case. The writer of Hebrews says there were countless generations who "...obtained a good testimony through faith [yet they] did not receive the promise" (Hebrews 11:39).

Moses was one of these. Called to be a leader and lawgiver of Israel, he desired greatly to see the glory of the Lord. As the one used to show the strength and power of Almighty God, you would think Moses had seen the glory of God in operation. From staffs turning to serpents to water turning to blood, God used Moses to confront Pharaoh and show His power. Shortly after Pharaoh's release of God's children, God once again used Moses to reveal His power to even them in the parting of the Red Sea. Time after time, Moses witnessed God's provision and miraculous power, yet his heart still cried out, "Please, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18).

I can almost hear his request. It's probably because my own heart has similarly cried out. In times of hardship, weakness, fatigue, and trial, we recognize the need for His presence in our lives. It's not that we don't need it at other times, it's just that we forget when life is easy and good. No wonder His Word warns us, "...lest you forget the Lord your God..." (Deuteronomy 8:14).

But when we look more closely at Moses' request to see God's glory, we find a certain reminder for ourselves. The Lord answered him and said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [But] You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live" (Exodus 33:19-20). This was God's answer to Moses; a promise to pass by him in all His goodness. Moses requested to see God's glory and God said, "I'll show you my goodness." In other words, God's goodness is His glory.

Repeatedly, the scripture speak of God's goodness: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8). "You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes" (Psalm 119:68). "For the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever" (Jeremiah 33:11). "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him" (Nahum 1:7).

Whereas, we may have thought the glory of God was simply a cloud or flash of lightning or some other extraordinary vision of God, He told Moses His glory is found in His goodness. We can see His glory through acts of kindness, undeserved mercy, or any and every thing that is good. Those who call upon Him in sincerity have seen and experienced His goodness firsthand. Instead of receiving what we deserve, the goodness of God forgave us and cleansed us of all unrighteousness. Unfortunately, we have sometimes taken this truth for granted, not realizing God's glory was in His goodness. Paul said, "Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God [led] you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). The word "despise" here literally means to lightly esteem. Would we lightly esteem the goodness (or glory) of God? Sadly, we have. But in His goodness, God forgives us.

The Bible says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). The absolute, best gift that ever came down from the Father was His Son Jesus Christ. And in an almost unimaginable scenario, God didn't just "pass" us by as He did with Moses. Instead, because we believed on Jesus as our Savior, "God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our heart" (Galatians 4:6). We no longer have to ask God show us His glory. Instead, all we have to do is close our eyes and look in our heart where His goodness and glory resides.

I pray we remember, "The riches of the glory [the riches of His goodness] ... is Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).