For if what is fading was came with Glory, what remains is even more glorious! 2 Corinthians 3:11
How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9
The Glory, or presence of God, comes from Him to us. There are two kinds of glory mentioned that Paul talks about: Fading Glory and Remaining Glory. Simply put, Fading Glory is temporarily and passes away. It it can refer to being temporarily overwhelmed with a sense of God’s nearness. Remaining Glory is more permanent, day in, day out, walking through life in the very presence of God.
Today we’ll look at the first of these two types of experiencing God’s presence. So many times when the glory of Jesus is described it is radiant – a “high” that comes forcefully into our lives and may last hours, or even weeks. Usually, but not always, these experiences of God’s presence take place during certain earthly circumstances:
1) Decisions — We can’t make a right decision for Jesus without experiencing His joy in some sense or another. Whether it’s a decision to accept Jesus as our Savior, to do the right thing despite not wanting to, or simply to walk away from a tempting choice simply because we know it’s not God’s plan for us. We feel His joy… and this can be momentary or temporary, a warm feeling or tremendously exciting.
2) Events — In a collection of special friends or among thousands of people in a rally we can experience the glory of God…the joy of being together, united as He has called us to be, invites God’s presence in a dramatic way.
3 ) Life altering experiences (Crisis or Success) — Sometimes hard things come our way and God shows up in dramatic and overwhelming ways to carry us “through the fire”. Other times we’re overwhelmed with the grace and goodness of God as something especially wonderful happens to us that demonstrates God’s faithfulness in a whole new way.
4) Specific seeking His face and prayer — Sometimes it’s when we pray for a new and more powerful sense of God’s presence in our lives. Sometimes it’s when others pray for us. This happened to DL Moody when two elderly ladies were praying for him. It took time, but eventually Moody was praying with them for this. One day in New York the presence of God came upon him as he walked down the street. That was the result of several people praying effectively for God to do exactly what God wants to do: reveal Himself.
5) God just surprises us — God delights in the unpredictable. He continually breaks out of the boxes we try to put Him in. Sometimes God just comes out of the cracks and there it happens: We experience His glory.
One of the reasons for the confusion we face in the practical realm of testifying to what God has done and is doing in our lives when we experience His presence is because there are two types of God’s presence. Paul mentions each. Both are legitimate experiences with God, but it’s sometimes hard to tell which one is happening when we are in the middle of experiencing God’s presence.
Next time we’ll look at some examples and results of remaining glory.