RELIGION —
Glory! I reckon I say it 40 times a day. It is more than a wonderful habit; it expresses who I am. It’s my way of paying tribute to the power and presence of God in my daily life.
It’s not a Sunday word. Like many of my generation, I grew up with Sunday clothes and Sunday shoes. But shouting “Glory” is an everyday thing for me. Every day there are occasions that stimulate a spontaneous expression of joy or gratitude for what God is doing in my life and in the lives of others.
What do I mean? One example is a phone call from a friend who says, “I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice!” That is a “Glory Moment” for me. A lovely card, one of those “five dollar” cards, arrives in the mail with a simple message — “I love you and I am praying for you!” I am saying “Glory” as quickly as a friend might say “Bless you” after I sneeze.
Sometimes there are “Double Glory” moments, like the phone call I received the other day from Paul Law in Indiana. I had not heard from or talked to Paul in more than 50 years. He was home on furlough from his lifelong service as a missionary in Congo, Africa. Now 76 years old, Paul said, “I just wanted to thank you for your influence in my life.” He explained that the occasion was a weekend when, as a young man, he heard me speaking in a conference at Blue Lake Camp.
Truly a double glory moment. Only a loving God could have arranged for a 76-year-old missionary to call a 91-year-old preacher to share such encouraging words! What a magnificent moment for me! I assumed Paul had retired from his work in Africa. Wrong! He said, “My wife and I are going back to continue the wonderful ministry God has given us there.” I was still trembling with joy when the call ended. And my “Glory” was louder than ever, though heard only by my dog Buddy – and the good Lord!
Glory is not a new word. It’s scattered throughout the Bible, 285 times in fact. It appears 160 times in the Old Testament and in every book of the New Testament. King David loved it so it may be found in the Psalms 44 times. One of the most familiar of those verses is Psalm 19:1 — “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Most often David uses glory as a noun, but he also uses it as a verb, an adverb and an adjective. Here are examples:
“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” — Psalm 34:3
“Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.” — Psalm 66:2
“Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.” — Psalm 72:19
As I write this, yet another storm is raging outside with heavy rain, loud thunder and lightning while I am reading Psalm 29. David is inviting us to “worship the Lord of glory and strength.” He tells us “the voice of the Lord is powerful; the God of glory thunders over the waters.” I love verse nine: “The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’”
David concludes that Psalm with these words: “The Lord blesses his people with peace.”
That reminds me that life is a mixture of both joy and sorrow. The storms do descend. But in the midst of all that is, the finest response we can make to our heavenly Father is simply this: No matter what, Lord, I will continue shouting “Glory” to express my gratitude for your love, your power and your presence! Glory!