Give glory to God

ANOTHER year is going gradually. We are all getting older; the calendar is turning on us. Despite the situation in the land, our lives are not static. We may not be where we desire to be yet, but surely we are making progress. Many of us are recording landmark achievements. And this is a reason for thanksgiving. The songwriter says,

I have a reason to praise the Lord (….4x)

Surely, each person reading this has at least a reason to praise the Lord. And so it is important to give glory to God as a habit; as a lifetime imperative. 

Why is it so important to thank God, to praise Him, or to give Him glory? It is because we must not for a moment think that we have achieved anything in our power. We must not look around, get impressed, congratulate ourselves, and go away feeling that we did it. We did not do it. God did it! We did not make it. God made it happen for us!! There is nothing we have today that we have not been given. There is nothing we achieved so far that is not by His divine mercy. James wrote:

James 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

He was echoing the thoughts of John the Baptist, who had said something similar many years earlier. John 3: 27 says,

John 3:27  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

This is a categorical statement. It shoots down all our attempts to lay claim to our achievements. It says that all that we have, all that we have achieved, are simply products of divine benevolence. You did not do it. God gave you. How we need to learn that lesson! How we need to realize that there is no need to be proud and to think that we are better than some people because God just had mercy on us and gave us results to show for our efforts. A comedian was cracking jokes, and he said that if hard work and prosperity are directly proportional, then labourers (especially those who dig the ground) should be the richest people on earth. But it is not by your labour; it is by His favour and mercy! And so, if you have received the favour and mercy of God, in that He has granted you tangible achievements; or He has granted you success, you need to acknowledge the Lord. You must place the glory where it truly belongs – say “I did not do it. God did it for me!”

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If we bring ourselves to that point where we realize deep within that we have succeeded only by the grace and help of God, it will be easier for us to throw our full weight into our thanksgiving. Appraise yourself today, and give glory to God. 

TO BE CONTINUED