I was listening to a song on repeat today, because the words have had a profound impact on my view of God. Sadly I have heard this song, and lead it in worship, countless times; not before today did the gravity of it seep into my soul. The words hit a chord in my heart that have opened my eyes to a side of what God wants from us that I haven’t noticed before:
Evermore my heart, my heart will say
Above all I live for your glory
Even if my world falls I will say
Above all I live for your glory[1]
The line of “Above all, I live for your glory” crashed into my mind and placed my heart in a state of introspection, for so many times I have been willing to give him all the glory when things go right and have been reluctant at best to concede an ounce of praise when things go awry. While an attitude such as this is common place among humanity, I cannot afford to live with such a selfish attitude any longer.
Attitudes are the things that either will stink so terribly that people around us will want to remove themselves from our presence, or an attitude of peaceful graciousness can cause people to gravitate towards us and wonder what is dwelling within that causes our lives to walk with joy. The true test of the condition of the heart has been said to be when things are falling apart, yet I would suggest that the times of peace are equally weighted for the test of a character; in fact, how many times have I become complacent with my walk with God when things seem to be going completely right—too many times and all of them have had dire consequences. With all of this in mind, I need to find a way to make sure that my hearts condition is always praising his name, and above all living for his glory.
Life has seasons in which there seems to be no way out, or no reprieve from the pressure that has mounted on all sides—which causes our hearts to feel as if we will be crushed—yet we must remember that there is a specific reason for the emotional turmoil that is present. Trials are God’s form of discipline. Not in the sense of I did something bad and must be punished, but in the way of God telling our hearts that he loves us and wants us to learn a life lesson that will transform us and make us reborn into something far more precious and beautiful than we could have imagined. The author of the book of Hebrews spoke on the Father’s discipline: “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12.11 NASB). While the process of learning is going on, we must take great care to say that we live for his glory, and then the season will pass and we can proclaim that he is faithful and just.
No comments:
Post a Comment