Hello September! I am certainly glad you are here. You have made a delightful entrance in Memphis. This first week in September, I was given the opportunity to drive around my mom’s VW convertible for the week. One starry night as I drove home from another ball game with a tired and defeated teenager in the passenger seat, I watched a supersonic mood switch transpire as we drove top-down on Walnut Grove. The surly, frustrated kiddo who was complaining over bad calls and sore muscles couldn’t help but relax as the summer air and wind messed up our hair and wafted over our faces. She laughed at me (not with me) as I sang at the top of my lungs in full view of other cars and people. The joy I had was contagious. I was captivated by the sensory overload. My eyes were open to the beauty of the bright stars and low-hanging moon. The giggle bubbles in my chest made my breathing fuller and my body more alive. I loved the sensations of heat and wind and good music and the sweetness of 15 minutes alone with a daughter that needs and loves me, and I couldn’t help but offer up my praise and thanksgiving to the One who created all of it.
As I grow up and grow in the Lord, I am growing in Thanksgiving. When we open our eyes, we are so very blessed to be Witnesses to God’s glory. It is all around us. Creation is all about the business of glorifying the Lord, and when we slow down or just open our eyes a little wider, we experience fullness.
“Did I not say unto you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 (NKJV)
This morning, I read this gentle correction that Jesus gave to Martha after He raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. Martha was the busy sister who bopped around from chore to chore. She seemed to always be rushing and always riddled with anxiety. The things Martha busied herself with were good things, but in her agenda-driven life, she lost the joy that comes from living a faith-driven life.
Jesus’s words to Martha in John 11 are just as loving and correcting and inspiring for you and for me today.
“Did I not say unto you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 (NKJV)
I was a child when I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I BELIEVED that Jesus was the Son of God and that I was a sinner. I BELIEVED that the only way my sins could be forgiven was if Jesus died for my sins and paid my penalty. I gave my life to Him and He took my heart of stone and gave me a new heart of flesh. Because I believed, I was guaranteed to one day be received into GLORY. Heaven is my inheritance and future because I BELIEVE in Jesus.
As I have grown in The Lord and in my love for Him, I live a life based on trust and faith and belief. I need the nourishment of His word. He fills me with the food of His truth. I trust Him with my kids and my marriage and the details of my life, and as I pray and release my agenda into His capable hands, I watch His GLORY unfold. I BELIEVE in His Sovereignty over everything and this BELIEF makes rejoicing in everything possible. I even was able to thank Him this morning for shaping me through a painful, lingering trial. I can see His GLORY in it and I am so thankful. Because He has opened my eyes to His Kingship and the beauty of His creation, I am seeing the GLORY OF GOD in sunrises, sunsets, surly teenagers, evening carpools college admissions, sleepless nights, silly dogs, new hobbies and so much more. When we trust and BELIEVE in Him in the day to day, we see His GLORY.
The most exciting application of this verse is all about the future GLORY! Because I BELIEVE in Jesus and have given my life to Him, when I die, I am promised to see Him in His full GLORY. I will see him face to face and be fully embraced. I really can’t imagine!!! The bubbles of joy in my chest will surely explode. The sight and sound and feel will be beyond what I am even capable of hoping for, and it is guaranteed, because I BELIEVE.
Oh dear friends, if we BELIEVE, we will see His GLORY. Thank Him for this guarantee over all our yesterdays, todays, tomorrows and for eternity.