Pure Glory

In my heart, in my eyes, in my soul, in my life, How I need Your pure glory In my rest, in my work, in my secret, in my worship, How I need Your pure glory

Unveil my heart, let me look upon Your face, Pure glory fall down on me And I’ll spend all my days, On the riches of Your grace. Let my life count as pure glory for Your name

Words and Music by Christy and Nathan Nockels

I totally stole this song from Alex 1.0’s blog. But reflecting back on it, that is my heart’s cry. Pure glory. My mind’s been jumbled with so many thoughts and commitments lately, yet all I want to be able to do in the end is to point to Him and have Him be glorified.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” - Piper

Piper’s quote has gotten me thinking since I first heard it. Thinking about what God’s glory really is. And I’ve concluded what it is not. It is not the success of my ministry, it is not a well-oiled mega-church, it is not the lip-service that I sometimes pay on Sunday. It is not how much time I spend within the four walls of the Church. It is not how many hours I spend on my knees, how many Bible verses I’ve memorized and the stickers that are next to my name. It is not …

Yet, it is … the soul of one who is pointed to Him by the life of another, a God-glorifying chapel who lives truly as the Acts 2 church did, it is the choir and throng of angels joining to praise our God at the top of their lungs, it is the humble service of a janitor couple cleaning the bathrooms of Church, it is a small group of high school students in a small closet-like room crying out to God for their classmates, it is an old man hunched over his Bible; desperate to see what God is saying to him in there, it is …

I first heard this at Campus Challenge. We had a night of healing and of self-introspection. A lot of things really hit me that night, but the biggest question I was left with, was “Where is His pure glory in my life?” The illustrations I gave above were for a reason. It seems that over the years of hearing how faithful God is, of the big things He is doing, of the rapidly spreading ministries and the gospel across the world, I’ve been enthralled by the big stuff. True, God works this way and it is awesome. But, at the same time, God also works in the little ways. He is sovereign; And the point is, God’s glory is thru the big and the small.

Maybe it’s only news to me, but I’ve been really struggling and trying to get a glimpse of His glory once again. God never ceases to redefine for me what it means to be blown away. I’ve learned that things don’t have to be big and spectacular to be awesome; that big healings and miracles are as glorious as a life quietly surrendered to God. He is God and he does both.

I guess the whole point of me blogging this is that I’m at a point in my life/phase where I’m questioning what really counts. In CCF a couple of years ago our theme was something along the lines of What am I doing today that will last forever? No longer is that a simple question anymore; I realize it doesn’t mean necessarily that jumping into ministry will have lasting effects. Frighteningly it means that only whatever God has called me to do will last forever. Ever crucial has it become to discern what God wants, and only what he wants. There are many good ideas, but I can only afford to pursue those that He has promised that He will bless.

Go listen to the song. May He shine his glory into each of your lives…