Linda Buishas
What are we allowing our ears to hear, our minds to think, our mouths to speak, and our eyes to see? Do these things glorify God?
“I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” Psalm 86:12. “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me.” Psalm 103:1-2. These words inspire us to continuously praise and glorify God with all that is within us.
Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We can find dozens of scriptures on how we can glorify God in our words, actions and in worship.
In Romans 1:22, we’re given a description of those who walked away from God. Giving glory to God is one of the things that they neglected to do. One of the ways to draw closer in relationship with our Lord is to glorify Him in all we do. It means to place so much value on God, that nothing can compete with Him; not any other relationship nor anything else.
If we focus on who we are in Christ and on the fruit that is already within us, evaluating all things against God’s Word, living more from our spirit than from our flesh, our everyday lives will glorify God, and we will experience more of Him.
Glorify also means to magnify God by making Him bigger than anything else.
Our minds can be like a pair of binoculars. What we wish to magnify in our sight will be larger. Thinking or talking about negative things is not magnifying God. It’s putting more value on the problem and may even tempt others to do the same. Ignoring or even giving up on God, negative words and attitudes keeps us from experiencing God’s presence, peace and joy.
If we focus on problems—like a bad report from a doctor or bills we must pay, they will get bigger. Of course, we must deal with these things but also confront them in the light of God’s promises. Most importantly, we must know His Word and magnify what it says. The devil can’t steal the word God speaks into our lives when we put our obedience and trust in Him more than anything of this world.
No matter what terrible things have or are happening in our lives, they need not diminish our focus on the love of God and acknowledging the good things He’s done.
Blessings come from placing God first. May we allow everything to begin with Him and flow forth from Him, not only living for Him but living from who He is. May we fill our minds and hearts with songs of praise and glorify God in all we do.