What and where is glory?

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You, divine beings! Give to the Lord—
give to the Lord glory and power!
Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
Bow down to the Lord in holy splendor!
Psalm 29:1-2


I have a lot of questions. Even as a someone in Christian ministry and currently pursuing a masters degree in theology, I have faith questions. Sometimes things that I should know the answer to I don’t know. Reading the above scripture I thought about the word “glory” and realized that if I was asked to define it, I don’t know what I’d say! So I consulted good old Google and went to dictionary.com which defines glory in many ways but my favorite definition is, “a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.” Perhaps we can also say that for God to be glorious then God is a Being of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.

These verses from the beginning of Psalm 29 can remind us that God deserves the glory for all the things God has done, but also deserves the glory for simply being who God is. God is splendorous. God is magnificent as a great King for what He does and simply for who He is. It’s easy to focus on what God does for us and praise God for those glorious things, but it’s also important for us to remember that God is in and of Himself glorious and magnificent.

When I learn a definition or get answer to one of my many questions, I want to know what to do with it. When it comes to God’s glory, I think we can study the world around us searching for God’s glory. We can search, as if with a magnifying glass, throughout the scriptures and throughout our lives for God’s glory. When I do so, I find God’s glory everywhere. I think if you take up this magnifying glass, you’ll find it everywhere too. Perhaps you’ll see God’s glory reflected in the smile of a friend or the beauty of nature. You can praise God for that person, place, and for that moment of joy. As we are a mere 9 days into 2019, you may have goals for yourself for the new year. I encourage you to make one of those goals to search for God’s glory in scripture and in your normal, everyday life.  I think you’ll be amazed at what you find. When you find it, praise God and give God the glory.

To Read More: Psalm 29, Psalm 34:1-10

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