She shook her head, and sighed. "I guess I'm not feeling very triumphant today." And she turned around and left. Now there may have been better ways for me to encourage her, but her attitude seemed to be that God owed her joy. If He did not bless her, she would not praise Him. This is an attitude we all seem to have in the modern age. Yes, we will raise our hands and praise Him mightily when things are going well for us. But in our darkest moments, we withhold the very praise that the Light of Life inhabits. And that's sad.
Listen to these three verses, and try to guess the context of each one.
Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give Him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." (Joshua 7.19)God is glorified in Truth
Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. (Jeremiah 20.13)
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." (John 9.24)
In the first verse, Joshua had been leading the Israelite army to one victory after another, under the leadership of God. It kind of sounds like Achan was a mighty warrior, who had performed a great feat on the battlefield, and that Joshua was encouraging him to tell everyone about his victory. But in actuality, Achan was a war profiteer, and had stolen some spoils of war for himself. This was in direct disobedience to God's command that everything be destroyed. So as a result of Achan's sin, the Israelite army had suffered a bitter defeat that day. Achan knew he had disobeyed God, and had been the cause of the loss of life of his countrymen; he also probably knew that admission of guilt would bring swift and severe punishment to him and his family. But Joshua encouraged him to "give glory to God" and tell the truth.
So giving God praise is not necessarily connected with our own well-being. In this context, "give glory to God" was an encouragement to tell the truth--it was like putting your hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The phrase could be used in this way, because lies do not bring glory to God. Even if confession brings the sting of death, God is glorified in Truth.
God is glorified in our need
The second example above is from a long lament by the prophet Jeremiah. He had just prophesied against a priest, the son of the chief officer in the Temple. Jeremiah called him out for lying, for giving false testimony in the Temple, and for prophesying lies. But the priest had Jeremiah thrown in prison. Jeremiah complained in prison that he had only told the truth, had only said the words that God had given him to say; yet he was sitting in a prison licking his wounds, while the priest walked free. Jeremiah cursed the day he was born; he said the day his father knew that a son had been born to him was not a day of rejoicing, but a day of weeping. Yet in all of this self-pity, Jeremiah recognized that God was stronger than his circumstances. Jeremiah may have been beaten and imprisoned, but God would be glorified forever.
A contrast is made between God and man: God is good, men are evil; God is powerful, able to rise up against the wicked; men may think they are in control, but not one of them knows the day he will die. So even when Jeremiah was angry at the world, and had every reason to be depressed, he gave glory to God. So should we.
God is glorified in our healing
In the third example above, it sounds like the men were asking questions of a sinful man who had been blind, but that God had restored his sight. Were they joyful with him, that God would do this wonderful thing in his life? No. They were the Pharisees, the church leaders of the day. They had it in for Jesus, who had performed the miracle that allowed this poor man to see. It was not the man that the Pharisees were calling a sinner--it was Jesus!
So again, the command to "give glory to God" was a solemn charge to tell the truth. The Pharisees were conducting an investigation of Jesus and His actions, so they could turn the court of public opinion away from Jesus and back toward themselves. The witness for their prosecution suddenly became a witness for the defense when the man said, "Whether He (Jesus) is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know: I was blind but now I see!" (John 9.25). This testimony was not likely going to get him in the good graces of the Pharisees; he would probably be excommunicated from the synagogue for such words. But glory did not belong to the Pharisees; glory belonged to Christ Jesus, the Healer.
As these three examples show us, we can't let our circumstances control us. God is still God, whether we feel good or not. He is still King of all Creation, whether we are on top of the world or struggling to hold it together. He is still worthy of our praise, whether we see His blessing or not.
Last night my wife and I had a discussion about rewards in Heaven. Are there different levels of Heaven that Man can aspire to? Will those who did good works for God on earth be given greater recognition in Heaven? My thought on this is I don't know; but if we earn any praise, it should be turned back on Jesus. If we earn any crowns, they will all be cast down at Jesus feet. The point is that if we are to humbly thank God in the best of circumstances (we're talking Heaven here, people!), then how much more are we to glorify God in the worst of circumstances here on earth?
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart feel lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? A constant friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender words I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose all doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, and only one step I may see,
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise;
When songs give place to sighing, and hope within me dies;
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free,
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free!
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
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