The Joy of Glory

1 Kings 8:22-26
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.”

Reflection
What do you pray for?

If I am honest, I know that most of my prayers have little to do with the will of God. Typically, I use my time in prayer to express my will to the Lord and try to convince him to get on board with all my plans and desires.

While it is extremely important to be honest before the Lord and pour out the contents of our hearts, that doesn’t capture the full picture of prayer in Scripture… and it almost always misses the ultimate goal of prayer.

Solomon’s prayer of dedication serves as a great example of what lies at the heart of prayer… namely God, not us.

Solomon gives praise to the Lord for who he is, especially for his faithfulness to keep his promises. Through recalling God’s past faithfulness, Solomon’s present faith is roused to make requests about the future.

And what are those requests?

“…keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him…” Keep on keeping your word! Keep on doing your will for the glory of your name and empower me to be a part of that! The ultimate desire of Solomon’s heart is for God’s name to be hallowed through the doing of his will! That sounds an awful lot like how Jesus taught us to pray doesn’t it?

In prayer, we are honest with the Lord and express the desires of our heart… but we also express our ultimate desire… for his will to be done for his glory. This is how Jesus prayed in the most difficult moment of his life. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

What is the deepest desire of our hearts? Our glory or God’s? Whatever it is will be revealed by the ultimate aim of our prayers. May we pray for the hallowing of our Father’s name! That is our deepest desire. That is our deepest joy!

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

2 Samuel 7:18–29 (click here)
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?

Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt…

And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever…

And your name will be magnified forever…

Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant…
(2 Samuel 7, selected verses, emphasis added)

Reflection
God made amazing promises to David!… Why?

David’s life was far from perfect. He did not deserve promises, blessings, or really anything from God. David himself recognized this fact when he said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”

So why did God make and keep such amazing promises to David… to his people… to any of us?

For his own glory.

God does all that he does to hold high the glory of his own great name… and this is great news for David, for you, and for me. It is great news for at least two reasons.

First, God’s promise-keeping-faithfulness is not dependent upon whether or not I am deserving. If he keeps his promises for the sake of his name, then nothing I do will thwart the faithfulness of God! This is good news!

Second, there is nothing greater that the Lord can give to David, to you, or to me than himself in all of his glory! Think about it… is there anything greater than God? No! So if God is going to give us the best, then he must give us himself! It is good news that God promotes his own glory, because that means he is promoting what will bring you and I the greatest joy!

David saw this truth too! Because God was establishing David’s house for the glory of his own name… because God was making it so that his own name would be magnified forever… because of all of that, David considered himself blessed by God!

Truly, Saint Augustine said it best, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you!”

Our greatest joy is the glory of God! So we pray that his name might be hallowed that we might have full joy in him forever!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Joshua 23:1-11 (click here)
…you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you…

The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight…

For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations…

…it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.
(Joshua 23:3, 5, 9, and 10)

Reflection
Joshua was a strong military leader.

He’d spent his life fighting battle after battle and had seen much success. He was a leader. A decorated solider. Followed and respected.

Joshua had every reason to be self-confident and trust in his own abilities. Yet at the end of his life, when he looked back over all the battles fought and victories won, he saw one thing… the sovereign hand of God!

It was the Lord who had fought for Israel. It was God who led them into the promised land as he drove other nations out. It was God who kept all his promises. Joshua may have yelled commands, held a shield, and wielded a sword, but God was at work in his voice, strength, and skill.

No matter what each of us do, we must ask to whom do we give the credit for our successes? When we get to the end of our days… if the Lord allows us time to reflect… in whom will we boast?

We are a people who boast in the Lord and the Lord alone! For others may trust in horses, and still others in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God! No matter the means, it is always the sovereign hand of God working through it for our ultimate good, which is his glory!

So as you go about your day, each and every day, rely upon the power that God has promised to provide for you to do his will, for his glory, in everything. “Whether you each or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

…for it is the Lord who fights for you!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.