HOW DO YOU TRY TO STEAL GOD'S GLORY?

HOW DO YOU TRY TO STEAL GOD’S GLORY?

 

To steal is to take something that is not yours. To try to steal God’s glory means that you are taking credit for what he chose to accomplish through you. Run from self-idolatry. Be the type of woman God loves to use to point people to himself.

 

ARE YOU THE THIEF WHO GOT CAUGHT?

 

What tricks do you have for trying to skim off some of the praise and honor owed to God? As you graciously accept compliments for a speech, do you forget that God gave you your talent as a speaker? Or what if someone is tearfully thanking you for making meals for her family during a tragedy? Do you forget that God gave to you in abundance so you could share?

 

Do you exude a self-aggrandizing attitude or hear yourself saying “I” all the time, as if you were meant to be the center of attention? Do you brag, wallow in the limelight, or fail to share kudos with your support team? Do you long to get credit for your good deeds? Do you harbor an ungrateful heart, arrogantly refusing to bow and say thank you to God? Do you fail to mention to others the miracles God has performed for you?

 

Do you like being in the know, which sets you up as a little god with secret information? The next time people are complimenting you over a profound insight, will you gratefully thank God for the wisdom he gave you? Anne Ortlund, cofounder of Renewal Ministries with her husband, admits her own weakness in this area.

 

ANNE ORTLUND SEES THE PROBLEM CLEARLY

 

Anne and her husband, Ray, have served together in ministry for decades. Their calling is to help believers love the Lord passionately and completely, and to ask those believers to help others do the same. Anne and Ray travel extensively—speaking at conferences, mentoring pastors and Christian leaders, and discipling small groups. They are now working on their twenty-seventh book.

 

Anne’s personal passion is to love the Lord with all her heart, soul, strength, and mind, though she admits that she has often tried to steal God’s glory! She says that the temptation in her spirit is to promote herself, exalt herself, name-drop, and take credit. Her struggle is continual—as in, it happens all the time! She adds, “Because of God’s gracious wisdom, we can only reflect his glory. Praise him for that!”

 

How Do You Try to Steal God’s Glory?

The Babylonians Attempted to Steal God’s Glory

 

The Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves, so they began building a tower that would reach to the heavens (later called the Tower of Babel). They were moved with pride and ambition, preferring their own glory to God’s honor. God made it perfectly clear to the Babylonians that this sin was not acceptable. Read Genesis 11:1–9. What’s your earliest memory of wanting life to be all about you or wanting to make a name for yourself?

 

SCRIPTURE TO PONDER

 

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  (2 Corinthians 3:18)

 

SUGGESTED PRAYER

 

Dear God, I, _________, can only reflect your glory as in a foggy mirror. Slowly, though, I am being transformed into your likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Holy Spirit. Today I pray that I will have a clearer knowledge of you, so I will yearn to reflect your glory more and more every day. Send your Holy Spirit to transform me daily to become more like you. Teach me to humbly bow to your glory.

 

So . . . What Insight, Prayer, or Action Step Has God Laid on Your Heart Today?