Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day thirteen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the visible glory of God.

Day Thirteen:
Thankful For God’s Glory

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”
Psalm 108:5 (NIV)

As I adjust to some winter-like weather, the day begins with an abundance of sunshine.  Whenever I have opportunity to travel, whether it is representing the prayer ministry or with my family, I am thankful for the glory God has spread out over the earth.  I am learning to slow down and pay attention to the glory of God.  I am thankful for the gift of photography which has caused me to not just notice a beautiful sunset, but to spend time enjoying it as I take it all in and try to capture some of its essence to share with others.

I am thankful that God is exalted by His very nature and that He has exalted the name of His Son, Jesus, to the highest place so that all people can call upon Him and be saved.  I am thankful that God also has called all of mankind, including me, to exalt and lift up His glory as we represent Jesus wherever we go.  The more I look for and notice the glory of God throughout creation, the less satisfied I am with just observing it.  No, I see it and I want to take in its fullness, to seek out the hidden and unseen parts of it, to dwell within its very presence.  While the sunrises, sunsets, crisp snowfalls, and other glimpses of God’s glory come and go, they serve as reminders of that sacred calling to join in proclaiming His majesty.

There is something about seeing the work of God that prompts me to point it out to others.  Whether the majesty of a sunset or the simple beauty of a cow and calf grazing along a mountain stream, I am thankful that God allows me to see His glory within it and to point others to Him through it.  As I prepare to represent Impact Prayer Ministry over the next few days, I am reminded of an article I wrote some years ago that I titled, “Tell Your Story and Give God the Credit”.  There are parts of my story that I don’t like and parts that are still painful to remember, let alone tell; but it is when I tell the story with the truth of God working in the midst of all the details, I find the story is much less about me and so much more about Him.  When He is exalted not just throughout creation, but throughout my life’s story, His glory is spread over all the earth.

As you pray, ask God to help you notice His glory over all the earth.  Pray that you would seek to make Him known as you share with others about the glory of God you have seen.  Pray for God’s glory to not just be revealed to you, but to be revealed through you.

I pray that you and I would be mindful of the glory of God He continues to reveal to us.  I pray that we would be humbled by the calling of God to share in that glory as we lift Him up to the highest place in our life.

In prayer,

Tom