stone stairs in sunlightThe few glimpses we have into the glory of our God are beyond our ability to even comprehend. Here are a few for you to read about and contemplate:

  • God revealing Himself to Moses and the people of Israel from the heights of Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:1-20:21)
  • God revealing Himself to the prophet Ezekiel, seated on His glorious throne and surrounded by the enigmatic and glorious cherubim and seraphim. (Ezekiel 1-2)
  • God revealing Himself to the prophet Isaiah, seated on His throne high up in the Temple. (Isaiah 6)
  • God revealing Himself to Daniel as the Ancient of Days, taking His seat on the Day of Judgment and Jesus appearing as the Son of Man, receiving from His Father the glory and dominion due Him. (Daniel 7:9-14)
  • And Jesus, the Lamb of God, being the One found worthy because He has purchased for God with His own blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. (Revelation 5)

In these passages we see manifestations of the incomprehensible, magnificent glory of God. We see Him seated on high, surrounded by myriads of adoring angelic beings who cannot help but cry out with joy, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!” We see His face shining like the sun and hear His voice sounding like the thunder.

We see the men and women who witness His glory immediately becoming acutely aware of their sins and trembling with fear before Him, and rightly so. Yet we also see the Almighty God, the One who is high and lifted up, responding with concern for the fearful and often faithless people before Him.

If you have never had a glimpse, that smallest hint in the depths of your heart of the fathomless glory of the magnificent splendor and wonder of God, you have yet to begin to know Him as He truly is. Few of us will have an experience like Moses or Ezekiel, but every one of us can experience the tiniest glimpse of the glory of God’s presence. By the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us on the cross, we can enter the very throne room of God with confidence through prayer.

Moses walked with God and often experienced His audible and visible presence. Yet he hungered for more and pleaded with God, “Show me Your glory!” And God did as Moses asked. He told Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.” (Exodus 33:17-23, 34:5-8)

I love God’s response to Moses. He did not say, “I will show you the magnificence of my throne” or “the myriads of angelic beings who worship me day and night” or “I will show you the limitlessness of my mighty power” or “the perfection of my holiness”, but He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you.” Out of all the glorious facets of God’s perfection, He considers the pinnacle of His glory to be His goodness.

What does that tell you about the God who created you and who sent His Son to die for you? The Almighty God whose power is limitless and whose holiness is the perfection of beauty is good in all that He is and all that He does. His faithfulness and mercy and love endure through all generations. And He seeks to bring you into the place where His mercy and forgiveness dwell so that he might call you His friend.

There’s only one word for it. Glorious.

Pastor Cindy