For His Glory
By Colin Chalmers
Copyright © 2012 by Colin Chalmers
All rights Reserved.
Note: Check in periodically at ColinChalmers.com for songs and other editions.
This book is dedicated to my wife Jenni who is an amazing example in her love and dedication to me and our children, and whose personal transformation over the years has been an encouraging reminder that God is always at work in us.
God. Life interruption or exciting adventure?
Day 1 As I drove . . .
Luke 12:27a
Day 7 Many of us are adept . . .
Mark 6:35-44
Day 9 It's so hard for me to wait . . .
Psalm 5:3, Psalm 27:14, Genesis 40:14, Genesis 40:23-41:1a
Oftentimes when I think about faith or trust, I put the focus on myself: "Am I trusting? Am I a hero of faith?" It is not always wrong to ask these questions, but I don't want to miss the most important thing of all: God desires glory. He wants to be honored, He wants his due for simply being God. My faith and trust in Him are for His glory not my own! What a difference it makes when I stop trying to be a "super Christian" and simply start asking how I can glorify Him. God knows best how to bring Himself glory, so I want to know Him better and listen to Him--acting on what He says.
I've found that as I put my focus back on God and His glory--living a life of faith for His sake and not my own--my life becomes an exciting adventure! That one change in motivation has made all the difference, and I can't help but be satisfied when He's glorified. Join me on this 30 day journey, and let your prayer be the same as mine: “Be glorified through me Lord!”
Consider how the wild flowers grow. Luke 12:27a (NIV)
As I drove from Ventura to Santa Barbara, CA recently, I looked at the hills and thought "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). I looked at the birds in the nearby trees and thought of Jesus saying how "not one falls to the ground without your heavenly Father knowing about it" (Matthew 10:29). I realized that each place I looked could spark a thought about God--remind me of who He is and what He is doing.
What an amazing way for us to continually delight in God--to be filled with His joy! I want to do this more and more. As I train myself to be continually reminded of Him, my mind will be transformed and my life will bring Him glory.
Jesus, while on earth you used everything around you to teach. I remember you saying to consider the lilies, and I imagine that they were right in front of you. Work in me that everything might remind me of you. May each thing I see, each and every day from now on, spark a "God thought"--something about the often unseen reality that we live in. Allow me to delight in you in this way, to be continually reminded of you, and to be constantly sharing these reminders with others. Transform my mind that my life might bring you glory! Amen.
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. Mark 6:35-44 (NIV)
Many of us are adept at seeing crisis in our lives whether it is at hand or coming quickly. When I see a crisis coming, the greatest temptation is for me to take things into my own brain and figure out what I need to do to stop this event from occurring. What happens in the Scriptures however is that each crisis becomes an opportunity for God to reveal himself in some way--to bring himself glory. In the book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby points out that when Jesus’ friend Lazarus was dying, Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead to raise him--gaining more glory for God than from "simply" healing a sick person. In the feeding of the five thousand, the opportunity for God to be glorified is there as well--but Jesus' disciples don't realize it. Jesus tells them the problem and their automatic thought is to ask: "How can we fix this problem in our own strength?" They know they can't feed this crowd and they tell Jesus so.
So what should our response be when we see crisis in our lives? I want to work to remember who God is, how much he loves me, and ask him what he wants to do in the situation. Then I expect that I’ll hear what else God wants me to do--usually these will be things that I never could have expected or envisioned on my own. God is so good that I can trust that He has actually been waitingto reveal himself though my troubles. Paul even promises that God will work all things for the good of those who love him. I want to make this my first thought when a trial comes, that God has a new opportunity to reveal something about Himself. There's nothing better than God's solutions and there's nothing like the goodness of His glory!
Father, may your Spirit work in me that I might view problems or trials as an opportunity for you to reveal yourself--perhaps in a new way. As I face new problems, stop me from first trying to use my own intelligence to solve things. May I turn to you at all times, and may you gain great glory!
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. . . . The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. When two full years had passed . . . Genesis 40:14, 40:23 - 41:1a (NIV)
It's so hard for me to wait. However, so much happens to me in the waiting and God can accomplish so much. Do I need to try and control everything? Do I really need to always be "doing"? How much more do I need to see what God will do so that he can be glorified!
I do not feel I have yet seen God fully use the gifts He has placed in me. These years up until now have included so much training and preparation--so much growing. On a smaller scale, I have waited for many things that have taken place. On a larger scale however, I wonder how much longer I can wait to walk into the greater things I am being prepared for (“greater” in the sense of requiring more preparation).
Is waiting inactive? Not at all! It is as active and productive as I can be. The moment to "act" and see the fulfillment of what God has prepared in the waiting often lasts, well, but a moment. The waiting however is where I am changed and prepared to be able to see God in what is ultimately accomplished. May he be praised and glorified!
Father, please help me to wait--so often I cry out against it. It is a difficult process but I thank you that you change me in the waiting. Prepare me for what you have for me to do when the waiting is done, and help me to see you at work. Your ways are good and you are worthy of glory!