“Glory In All
Things”
Romans 5:1-6
1)
Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2)
By whom also
we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God.
3)
And not only
so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4)
And patience,
experience; and experience, hope:
5)
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6)
For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
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doubt, one living in this world can find reasons, in various situations, for
not glorifying the Lord. However, simply because we can justify such does not
legitimize it in His eyes. He wants us to learn to give Him the glory in all
situations. You see, when we glory when a situation is at its worst, how much
more will we be able to praise Him when things are going well.
If
we only really knew, believed and accepted who we are in the Lord, we would be
spiritually unstoppable. We would instinctively know that we need not be
bothered about anything, for we have divine protection in our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Why
do we put so much emphasis on preaching about the children of
Too
often, the people of God feel it their prerogative to allow things to bother
them or move them. What is not acknowledged is that reactions always make
problems worse and always cause a bad attitude.
Becoming
more common to the conversation of the people of God is the comment that
“things are not going the way they are supposed to.” Concerning the individual,
things may not go, or be going the way we would like them to go, but they
always go the way the Lord says they are supposed to.
Some
of our problem stems from the fact that we try to base our glorification of God
upon what does or does not happen, or is, or is not happening in our lives. We
will never be happy until we realize that God is Who He is and deserves
glorification not because of what happens in our lives, but in spite of.
If
we would be happy, we must stop focusing on our problem and focus on the
problem-solver. You see, we should never speculate on what could happen,
anyway; for doing so is not being positive in the Lord. One who is not positive
can receive nothing from Him.
Contrary
to what is really shown, many are stopped from “glorying in all things” by
fear. The self-reliant stance many would adopt is simply a ruse to keep others
from recognizing that one is afraid of being overcome. Anyone in this position
does not understand that we do not stand in our own power, but in the faith of
the Word of God. Then again, this presupposes that one has faith in the Word of
God, doesn’t it?
Undoubtedly,
there are those whose praise of God is based on the strength of their fleshly
accomplishments. That is, as long as “I” am getting glory, then I can give the
Lord, a little, too. Then, there are those who will praise God as long as all
their family members are saved and doing well. None of this is true
glorification of God and none of it will last. No matter what one’s situation,
no matter who (whether children, spouse, family or friend) does not want to be
saved, the child of God must make up his own mind to praise the Lord!
Yes,
trying times, unpleasant situations and tests will come, but if one has lived
this long in salvation, he learns that he will never be tested above that he is
able to withstand. That is why as we go “from faith to faith” we are to be
patient and recognize that we are indeed (spiritually) “built to take to it.”
The
most valuable lesson to be learned through all is for us to finally realize
that it was Jesus who kept and sustained us. There is no other name, now;
there was no other name, before; and there will never be another name,
that will save us, keep us saved, or allow us to be saved. Is “glory(ing) in all things” really asking too much?