John 17:4 “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”

This answers the very fundamental question of how do we give glory to God? Yes, singing His praises is good and important, but even more fundamental is simply doing the work He gives us to do. If we claim to belong to Him, but fail to do what He says to do, we are cheapening His name to those around us. Jesus perfectly glorified the Father because He perfectly fulfilled all that the Father gave Him to do. We certainly don’t have the same commission as Jesus, but we too can give glory to God by our obedience. That will look different for each believer, because we each have a different job description, just as Paul expounded on in 1 Corinthians 12, but if the faithfulness is there, God will be glorified. It doesn’t matter at all if our job is or is not something the world might recognize as “great.” Some of Jesus’ highest words of praise were for a woman who simply gave Him her all, in the form of a jar of perfume. (Matthew 26:6-13) Frankly, we aren’t good judges of our own deeds. That’s why Paul said, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4) However, we are to be seeking the Lord for what He wants us to do each moment, and apply ourselves fully to it as an offering to Him.

This is something that I frankly haven’t thought about very deeply. I do desire to do God’s will on His schedule, but I haven’t thought about it very much in terms of glory. Maybe I need to! I do know that I have the greatest joy and satisfaction when I am aware that I am in the flow of His Spirit. That’s one of the things that gives me anticipation for heaven, because I know that there I will constantly be in that flow, and I can hardly imagine it! The glory of this world is fleeting and unimportant, but it can still be distracting. I am to indeed seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, doing all He tells me to do in the way He tells me to do it, knowing that as I give Him glory in that way, His glory will be reflected back on me, and that is a higher honor than anything this world can bestow.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for causing me to pause my devotions at the beginning and write an apology to a brother I offended, That too is doing Your will! Thank You that I just passed my kidney stone! It’s exciting, not only that I passed it but also that I was able to collect it so simply, to be able to take it to the doctor for analysis. I feel somewhat giddy on that issue! Help me be a good steward on every level of this body You have given me, so that it will be fully available for whatever You want me to do, for Your glory indeed. Thank You. Praise God!