Philippians 4:20 "Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
The word, "now", is considered to be a position in time. At what time
should I be glorifying God? Now, I should be glorifying God. Paul was in prison
as he wrote this. Was he under the expectation of glorifying God when things
were going against him? After all, had he not glorified God by going from place
to place? Had he not glorified God by preaching the Gospel? Had he not
glorified God when stones were pelting his body? Had he not glorified God when
he stood against the idols of the land and proclaimed Jesus Christ is Lord? Had
he not then glorified the Lord God? Was he, or anyone else, expected to give
glory to God under such dire circumstances?
Not only did Paul say the present moment was the time to glorify the Lord, he
added a definite "amen" to the statement. It is as if Paul was
making the statement and then tacking these words to the end of the statement,
"And I mean it." There is never a moment in time when God does
not deserve our glory and praise. There is never a moment when the Lord's love
is less than at the moment when Jesus declared redemption to be finished as He
took His last breath on the cross. Whatever is taking place in our lives
should magnify the need to glorify God.
I overlay some verses from 2 Corinthians onto these sweet words. He had asked
the Lord three times to remove something from his life that was causing him
considerable pain, discomfort, and irritation at the least. He referred to it
as a thorn in the flesh. Each time the Lord said, "No, I will not remove
it." Would Paul have been excused from giving glory unto the Lord at that
moment? After all, aren't we supposed to glorify the Lord when things are going
well for us? What was the Lord's response and then Paul's response to
that? "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2
Corinthians 12:9)
How does this overlay with Philippians? Paul had said, "I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me" and he also said, "MY
God shall supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus." When Paul asked for the thorn to be removed, Christ said, "MY
grace is suffiicent for thee." In that statement we find both the
strength needed and the sufficient supply to be able to continue in service to
the Lord. What was Paul's response? In Philippians, he stated God
deserves all glory. Paul stated in response to Christ's supply of grace,
"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities."
Why was Paul going to glory, or rejoice, in them? The power of
Christ was made to be so very real to him during those times.
It seems to me that when I ask God to remove difficult situations, I am robbing
myself of the experience of growing in His grace. Instead of asking the Lord to
remove, maybe I should ask for His sufficient grace that I would be able to
endure. We sing, "And he walks with me and he talks with me. And he
tells me I am his own." We should be glorying in that great truth
and looking for His glory to shine in every situation.