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Daily Devotion: Philippians 4:20

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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.

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