Tuesday, May 28th, 2024
I’ve been reading in Jeremiah lately and there are a few references to the word glory that have intrigued me, so today we are going to dig a little deeper. As I have been meditating on these scriptures I have found myself asking these questions: where is my glory and what am I glorying in? The first scripture is Jeremiah 2:11:
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are not gods?
But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
This isn’t exactly one of those warm and fuzzy scriptures. It’s tempting to point our fingers at the Israelites and say, “Yea, how could they do that?” But if we stop and think long enough (or perhaps not that long), we can all come up with situations where we have exchanged perfect glory for a facade of glory.
The word glory in this scripture in the original Hebrew (Strong’s) means weight in a good sense, honor, splendor, abundance. When we accept the position of a child of the King, we are bestowed a now and forever-after glory of the best of all that God has. Sometimes however, we misinterpret this gift to mean that we get whatever we want whenever we want it. And when this doesn’t happen we go looking for a “better” glory in other places. It could be a career, a family, a ministry or a hobby. So, let’s answer the first question, where is our glory or we could say, where do we look for fulfillment?
The next scripture I want to look at is Jeremiah 9:23-24:
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
This is one of those scriptures that I like to call a temperature check. The word glory in these scriptures (Strong’s) means: to shine, to make a show, to boast. So question number two, are we boasting in our wisdom, our might, or our riches? Or do we boast in the fact that we understand and know God and that our complete faith rests in His lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness? Of course we all desire the latter. Boasting in anything else is a little bit like stepping on hot coals and thinking they won’t burn us.
Final Thoughts…
It feels like a good time to examine our glory GPS. Are we resting under the weighty presence of God’s glory and boasting about all He has done and will do for us? Or are we exhausted and unfulfilled in our search for glory in all the wrong places? Let God show you if there are any places where your glory might need a little course correcting. It’s another one of those travel tips that might make the journey a little more glorious.