He led me to the gate, the one that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of mighty waters, and the earth shone with His glory. Ezekiel 43:1-2 HCSB
The United States of America recently celebrated Independence Day on July 4th. We proudly put out the American flag at our house. Our country often refers to the American flag as “Old Glory”. The flag always arouses feelings of patriotism and love for our country.
I enjoy taking outdoor photography of nature scenes. At times I have captured pictures of sunrises and sunsets that one might describe as glorious. We even sing songs that sing about glory, but nothing can compare to the glory of God.
The primary Hebrew word that is translated “glory” comes from a root word that means “heavy”. It means to give weight or honor. This verse in Ezekiel also indicates that the glory of God is like a bright light (See Ezekiel 10:4; Luke 2:9; and Revelation 21:11, 23). Throughout the Old Testament God’s glory is revealed at different times, but the ultimate revelation of God’s glory was when Jesus came and lived among us and revealed God’s nature through His words and actions. God’s glory causes us to realize how powerful, awesome, and loving our God is and how unworthy we are to receive His mercy and grace.
Challenge: Spend some time just thinking about the glory of God. Let your mind wander and think about how awesome and great is the God you serve. Praise God for who is He is and for His great mercy and forgiveness. Listen to Chris Tomlin perform the song “How Great is Our God” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZFN8TBfgNU&feature=kp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZFN8TBfgNU&feature=kp)