How You Think of God’s Glory is about to Change Forever

 Categories : A Culture of Listening Activites for Families

 

The bad news is: so many of us are living fragmented lives. We don’t experience oneness because we’re starved for God’s glory. The good news is: you can experience more oneness, and more glory, in your life. Here’s one way:

 

Notice God’s glory where it’s already on display around you. Cultivating this awareness is as simple as taking time to savor a sunset, a thunderstorm, or ripe produce. It isn’t something you have to conjure up.

 

I was excited to write about noticing God’s glory with your senses. Then a reader pointed that our senses bombard us with data that can also distract from God’s glory. So what’s the difference between an experience of God’s glory and a distraction?

 

Liver.

 

I know, it sounds crazy, but stay with me. כבוד, The main Hebrew word we translate as ‘glory’ shares the same root as the Hebrew word for ‘liver’. The liver is the heaviest organ in the body. The ancient Hebrew people used what they understood about the weightiness of the liver to help them understand the weightiness of God’s glory.

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And you can do the same (not necessarily with liver). We understand the hard-to-fathom aspects of God’s nature through the evidence of His glory we experience all around us.

 

Liver is helpful in another way too. Distractions float past or zoom by. They ricochet off each other in your thoughts. Glory has weight. It settles, it rests.

 

I feel this settling effect when I meet God outside. The stuff that’s not worth thinking about floats away. My fragmented thoughts and conflicted feelings settle into agreement with each other and with God.

 

So part of noticing God’s glory is noticing which sensory stimuli already have weight or substance. They can be a distraction or an experience of God’s glory, depending on how you handle them.

 

For example, one of my biggest “distractions” is the sounds my kids make when they play. Sometimes I leave the room so the noise doesn’t diminish my focus. Other times, I stop and let the weight of their miraculous lives overwhelm me. They are evidence of His glory in my life.

 

Noticing doesn’t come naturally to most of us. So how do we (re)awaken our own sense of wonder at the beauty of creation, and help our kids do the same?

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One of my favorite ways is take a walk with my kids and ask them to point out what they notice. Having them be the tour guide heightens their awareness and helps me stay receptive and teachable.

 

You can ask God to reveal the weight and substance of His glory in leaves, stars, baby toes and peaches. Here’s a free tool to make it fun.
Where is God’s glory evident in your life right now?



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  • http://awkwardlygraceful.wordpress.com brooke

    fall is beautiful in my area – so easy to see His glory on my drive to work, if only i look!

    • mlekallio

      The changing seasons really heighten my awareness of His glory on display outside too. It’s fun to revisit the cycle with new eyes. Blessings!

  • http://Hannahkallio.org Melinda

    His glory is evident in a passage He directed me to very recently that coincides with your thoughts: “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28. But he graciously provides us with enough in the form of our senses to recognize and experience His glory, provided we focus on Him;)

    • mlekallio

      That’s a good point Melinda. We can’t fully grasp the substance of His glory, but He gives us sensory clues that whet our appetite for more glory. Thanks for sharing that verse!

  • Gabriela

    Resting in His presence is one of my favourite things to do. If I’m intentional about doing that the distractions diminish by themselves. I’m learning how vital this is for my spiritual health. If I’ve let the day slip by by not taking the time ….I’m left feeling empty. How do we fill ourselves full of His glory using our senses? I listen carefully and focus and ask Him – what do you want me to see? Maybe that bird that flew into the wreath hanging on the front door taking a rest and chirping, sings a melody to my soul, or the sounds of the trees praising as the wind breathes through its branches? Was it the smell of fresh rain or the sound of thunder that says “I am with you”. In the stillness I feel, see, smell and hear His Glory all around me. That’s true rest!😀

    • mlekallio

      Gabriela, I love the descriptive examples you gave of recognizing God’s glory in several different senses. I also love the question you ask to let Him show you where His glory can be found. I’m always on the lookout for great questions to ask God, other people, and myself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!