Glorfying God

Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back in praise…

Philippians 2:14,15

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

What does it mean to glorify God? To love God through worship.
What does it mean to worship God? To praise him by attending church and singing hymns or if you attend a more modern church singing songs about God with a little more hip flair.

This is where so many of us mess up. We go to church and sing songs and listen to our pastors fill us with tidbits that we can take with us into our week and …the end. Until next week. Then we do it all over again.

What does it REALLY mean to glorify God? We really glorify God when we recognize that everything we do, see, say, touch, hear…belongs to God. We really worship God through our actions and deeds as long as they are completed with a pureness of heart. We do it because God wants us to and we do it the way God wants us to. But here is the real kicker. We can do anything the way God wants us to but if we do not find enjoyment in it, even when it is something we do not like to do, like fold 15 loads of laundry, we deny God his portion of enjoyment. It can be really hard to do the mundane and burdensome tasks of our personal lives with enjoyment, unless…you understand that our circumstances are a gift from God. Not burdens. Have you ever watched someone try to do something that you really enjoy but they have a terrible attitude or just don’t seem that into it. It’s painful isn’t. You just want to say, stand back, let me do it. Or if it is your kid that you are watching you want to take away what you gave them because they don’t seem to appreciate it.

My sanctification is, as it should be, a process. I am in the bible every day. I crave it. I start my morning with it and to be honest, when I don’t start my day with it, the day always goes terribly wrong. Awhile back, in the not too distant past, I re-read the book of Ecclesiastes. This book is thought to be written by King Solomon to the people of Israel to reveal that he had discovered that without God at the center of a person’s life, every human effort is meaningless. There were many verses that caught my attention as to the way I should conduct myself as a Christian woman but my eyes were opened with Ecclesiastes 3:11-13.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men: yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.”

My circumstances are all gifts. Every single one of them. Not one has been handed to me as a burden. When I receive these tasks as gifts I can’t help but be joyful. It is a gift to get up in the morning to take care of my husband by making him breakfast and his favorite iced coffee before he goes out to work. It is a gift that he has work. If he didn’t have anywhere to go, I wouldn’t have a reason to get up early. It is a gift to school my own children. I get to see all of the struggle and hard work pay off everyday right before my eyes. It is a gift to have to tackle a mountain of clothing to be folded because it means my family has clothing. It is a gift to have to pick up four hundred pairs of shoes over and over and over because it means that this house is full of little feet that the shoes belong on. It is a gift that I get to do all of these things and see some of the creative world that God made with the scenery always changing. I live in a motorhome but my backyard is the United States of America.

I then came across Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might…” and it complemented another verse from 1 Corinthians. Chapter 10 verse 31 says “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

I sat and marinated in this one for a while. Worship is glorifying God. We call singing worship, which it is, but not all of us were given the gift of a beautiful voice. We show love to God through doing everything we do with a grateful and non-complaining attitude giving it all we have. How many times a day do we tell our kids “I don’t care how you do it, just don’t complain!” Everything I do from making elaborate wedding cakes to making sure the corners of the motorhome are crumb free to patiently dealing with my kids is an act of love to God. This was made clear with Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

“Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.”

The point that I want you to see and hear is that God enables us to enjoy our lot including our work and the gladness of heart that any of us have is also given to us as a gift from God.

God has initiated progressive change. Without Him I would be a wandering motorhomemaker distraught because I have no guidance and don’t understand the point.

The natural, fleshly me born into this world is fairly lazy. I find great enjoyment sleeping in until about 11:00 in the morning (which I will say I have only done maybe twice in the last six years by gift from my husband). I would rather eat off of paper plates and disposable utensils then wash any dishes. Laundry is to be done when you need the clothing and putting them away seems extremely futile since they are going to be promptly removed from their designated home sooner rather than later anyway, in fact if you really want to know how I am, I guess I can’t quite justify getting dressed at all. Staying in my jammies all day does not seem terribly unreasonable. I have been accused of being rigid at some points so that I can better argue my points that I am convicted on. I will accuse myself of having been an inter-personal relativist so that I could justify my sinful choices. I can be an emotional over-reactor and a lot of times I have allowed my hormones to control that roller-coaster ride and many times forcefully strapped my husband in as well. I have removed myself from certain tasks claiming to not be any good at it and in fact justified it by affirming my husband’s skills in those areas. I could go on and on and on. But I won’t. I’ll spare you the agony. The point is that I am not naturally little Suzy homemaker. When I became justified in Christ I was given a new will and new spirit.



Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 says

“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God”

Wisdom, knowledge and happiness. Did you catch that? They are gifts from God also. Everything is his. He has asked me to take care of a small portion of his creation. If you ask me, that is an extemely humbling request. Who am I to be asked to take care of some of his estate? Who are you to have been asked to take care of some of his estate? The fact of the matter is we have been.To be more blunt, God doesn't need me to take care of anything, He asked me to because he wants to share it with me. He asked you to because he wants to share it with you. Regardless of what our “lot” is, it is a “lot” given to us by God. It is my job to do the best I can to take care of everything he has given me, physical, mental, spiritual…

Think on this for awhile, are you turning back in praise every blessing God has poured out on you or are you executing your day in a meaningless fashion?

Use these verses for a place of reference to start your search.

Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:2

All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Philippians 2:3,4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:14,15

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Titus 3:14

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

To you all out of love - Dawn