The world doesn’t need more impressive people. It needs ordinary people reflecting His glory.
What do you do with verses like Isaiah 48:11, where God keeps talking about His glory?
“I didn’t let you get wiped out because of My glory...”
“I’m doing this for My glory…”
If I’m honest, that used to sound like something parents say when they’re tired, frustrated, or trying to guilt their kids into gratitude:
"I pay for this, so you better appreciate it."
"I work hard so you can have all this — don’t forget that!"
You know what I’m talking about—guilt with ignorant weight and innocence. I’ve probably already said something like this to my girls without realizing it.
And here’s the thing — parents actually mean well when they say it (at least most of the time). In a weird way, they’re trying to say, “You are worth my extra job, my extra hours, my sacrifice — because I want you to have a better shot at life.” It’s not all bad. They want their kids to reflect something good about the family, about the sacrifices that were made.
But here’s where it falls short — it’s still self-focused. It’s rooted in flesh, not Spirit. It’s about what I did for you, instead of a posture of servanthood and true sacrifice — the kind of love that forgets itself entirely because it’s too focused on the beloved.
Now imagine if a parent — if I — could sit my kids down, not in frustration, not after they’ve disobeyed or made a mess, but just in a quiet, tender moment, and say:
"I love you so much. Everything I do, I do because you matter this much to me. You don’t have to earn it. You’re already worth it."
That would be a glimpse of glory — not guilt-tripping, but a revelation of worth and love flowing out of relationship.
So What Is God’s Glory, Really (Why it Changes Everything)?
We hear athletes say it: “All glory to God.”
We hear it in church.
But what does it actually mean? How do we give God glory if we don’t even know what it is?
Here’s a picture: God is the ultimate parent.
He sits His kids down — not to scold or show off — but to express who He is, what He’s done, and where they’re going. And as He speaks, He opens their eyes to glimpses of perfection:
In creation — sunsets, storms, mountains, galaxies.
In people — someone’s unexpected kindness, a stranger’s financial blessing that carries you through the month.
In divine delays and chance meetings that weren’t chance at all.
That’s a small picture of His glory at work. Almost there, I think. Let’s look a little deeper.
In Hebrew, glory (kabod) literally means weight — heaviness. Not a burden, but a brilliance so substantial you can’t ignore it.
It’s significance, beauty, and holiness radiating out from who God is. It’s what makes God, God — and what makes encountering Him so radically transformative.
God’s glory is what happens when who God is — in what you see, experience, or encounter — becomes impossible to ignore.
It’s His beauty so overwhelming it rearranges your priorities.
It’s His goodness so bright it burns away every lie you believed — about Him and about yourself.
It’s His love so weighty it makes you fall to your knees — not because you’re scared, but because you’ve never felt safer.
God’s glory isn’t just light — it’s the light that makes everything else finally make sense.
It’s not just power — it’s the power that holds galaxies in place while still knowing your name.
It’s not just fame — it’s the kind of fame that invites you in instead of pushing you out.
Glory is God going public with His heart.
The Wild Part — We Carry It
Here’s what blows my mind:
The glory of God isn’t just something we watch from a distance. It’s something we were created to carry.
When we love like He loves — we shine.
When we forgive like He forgives — we shine
When we worship Him not just with songs, but with our actual, messy lives — we shine.
Not because we’re great — but because we reflect Him.
1. Why Glory Matters Right Now
We live in a time when everything feels loud — news, social media, political arguments, personal crises. Everyone’s fighting to be seen, to be heard, to be famous for a minute.
But glory reminds us:
There’s only One whose presence can actually heal the world — and heal your soul. When you see His glory, everything else shrinks. The things that felt so massive — your fears, failures, your enemies — suddenly lose their weight in His light.
This isn’t just for Sunday mornings. This is for every morning.
This is survival and everlasting joy for your spirit.
If you don’t see God’s glory, you’ll chase after someone else’s.
2. Glory and Suffering — the Weight You Can’t See
There’s this line Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17:
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
Glory isn’t just what you see when life is beautiful — it’s what God is building in you when life is brutal.
Every loss, every disappointment, every time you trusted and got hurt — none of it is wasted.
Why?
Because the same God who fills the heavens with glory is quietly filling you with His glory too — shaping you to shine like Him.
So when life feels unbearable, remember the weight of glory being formed inside you — a weight so heavy with grace it’ll take all eternity to unpack it.
3. Glory in the Ordinary — Tuesday Glory
We have to stop thinking glory only happens on mountaintops or in worship services with fog machines.
Glory lives in ordinary Tuesdays.
When you choose to speak gently instead of snapping in anger — that’s His glory showing up in you.
When you forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it — that’s His glory showing up in you.
When you wash dishes, hold babies, clock into work, and still whisper “Jesus, this is for You” — that’s His glory showing up in you.
Glory isn’t just something you see — it’s something you practice daily.
The world doesn’t need more impressive people. It needs ordinary people full of glory.
Never Finished Challenge - Steps and a Prayer For His Glory
Take 5 minutes today and ask God to show you His glory — right where you are.
It might show up in creation, in a person, or in a quiet whisper inside you.
Write down what He shows you because, as we learned together, His glory leaves a mark.
A Prayer for Glory
Father, open my eyes.
I don’t want to live numb.
I don’t want to chase small glories that fade.
I want to see You — in creation, in people, in the quiet corners of my life.
Show me Your glory.
Let the weight of who You are press into my heart until it changes me.
Let me carry Your glory into every conversation, every choice, every hard moment.
Make my life a window — so when people see me, they catch a glimpse of You.
In Jesus’ Name, amen.
What does today say about God?
It’s hard to believe that reading Isaiah 48 would ignite a moment like this — a moment to sit with His glory, to try to write it down, and to share it with you. But that’s undoubtedly how He works.
I have many deficits — but because I showed up with Him this morning, He showed up for me. And I walked away understanding just a little bit more about the King of Kings, our Creator, our Father.
Today taught me something about His heart:
He is willing to teach and guide me where my character needs to grow, in seasons where I need to go for His glory.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thanks for sharing the prayer for glory. What a transformative way to think about Gods Glory.