Have you ever prayed to see God’s glory in your life? We read of so many men and women in the Bible who were able to witness God’s glory in the course of their lives. Reading about the story of Moses’s multiple encounters with the Lord, and reading about David’s constant desire to dwell in God’s presence, made me also want to feel and see God’s glory in my life.
I remember praying multiple times, “Lord show me your glory! May I be sensitive to your voice and may I desire wholeheartedly to dwell in your presence.” I was imagining that I would see His glory in the goodness and mercy He showed me every day; in the changing of my circumstances and in the pain being taken away. But I was wrong. I was forgetting that His glory can also be witnessed in the middle of our darkest and lowest moments. I needed my definition of seeing His glory, revised.
Many times, when we are going through a difficult situation, we ask God to show us a miracle. We ask Him to change the circumstances. We ask Him to please “take this cup” from us. And yes, there will be times in which God will show us miracles. But we’re usually expecting to only see His glory in the midst of those miraculous moments. God began to show me in my personal life that to see His glory also meant being willing to stay put in the trial I was going through. To not ask to be taken out of the fire but to ask for my eyes to be opened so that I may see His glory in the midst of the fire. And that is a difficult prayer to pray. Deep down we’d rather step out of the blazing fire, or be rescued from the tempest storm instead of staying in it. Recently, I read a quote that said: “At the end of the day, this life is not about me, so I let God take the lead.” God wants His glory to be seen in us. He wants to use our lives as channels of blessings to others. That when others see our lives and our testimony, that they may desire to also have that fellowship with God. I believe that God teaches us so much more than we can imagine, when we’re in a difficult situation; because it is there, in our darkest moment, that we realize how insignificantly small we are and how great He is. And it is there that we begin to see His glory surround us. We begin to feel His presence envelop us. We begin to feel His peace fill our hearts and His joy become our strength.
As we find ourselves passing through despair, or a time of difficulty, may we pray to see His glory in the midst of it all. When we feel that all hope is lost, may we pray to see His mighty hand holding ours. God wants to show us His glory, but are we willing to stay in the fire so that we may see it surrounding us?
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same page from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” II Cor. 3:18 (ESV)
SURROUNDED
BEAUTY FROM ASHES 
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