TO GOD BE THE GLORY... not me
Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Over the last 30+ years of guiding hunters, fishermen and just those that want to experience the outdoors, I've learned that often I control the attitude of the adventure. That might sound odd, but most of the time it is very true. My joy or bad attitude sets the tone for everyone else's trip. If others see me joyful or grumpy... they often follow my lead.
We've had some strange and difficult things happen on some adventures that could have devastated the entire trip, if I had let it. We had 3-4 days of downpours on a 5 day bear hunt / fishing trip, camps broken into and nearly destroyed the day before hunters arrive and even one year a cow literally walked through a picture window the day we arrived in camp... that cow left us a "gift" on dinning room floor. Through all of these near disasters, we could have thrown in the towel and called the trips off.... But that wasn't the right thing to do.... We pressed on and worked harder to get the job done as we had planned. We didn't do it for our glory... it was the right thing to do and we were an example for God through our lives.
The apostle Paul's life was truly an example of a life that was set on glorifying God. In Act 16, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison for serving God, by throwing out a demon from a girl. Yet, at midnight they weren't grumbling or crying, they didn't throw in the towel, no... There they were, with their feet bound in the stocks, singing and praying.
Paul was confident that God would use all things—poverty as well as abundance, comfort as well as pain—for Paul's good and God's glory. Paul knew that God had a plan in all of it. In Paul's letter to the Romans in Romans 8:28, he tells them and us, "For all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purposes.". We can rest on that.
We as Christians, if we are discontented and miserable for any reason... job, spouse, finances, family... we are a terrible testimony about the goodness of our God. What kind of God do we have? Is He really in control? Can He really be trusted? Glorifying God means that we praise Him with absolute contentment, knowing that our situation is God's plan for us now, in this time.
Others are watching and they will notice if we are grumbling or if we are glorifying God through the good and the bad. They will know if we "Count it all joy, when we experience various trials" (James 1:2). We are not a positive example of a witness for Him when we can't be joyful through the hard times. There are many times we have no control of the way things happen. If we don't "count it all joy" we aren't trusting God and others will see it.
Charles Swindoll said it this way,
"If your life is an example of glorifying God, others won't see your good works and glorify YOU, because they'll know what you are doing is for God's glory."
May your life always bring glory to God.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
Click the button to sign up for Dean’s Daily Devotional. FREE and delivered daily.