A Glory Worth Waiting For
Beauty. Majesty. Glory.
We crave these things. Each and every day we are relentlessly in pursuit of these things. Whether it be in ourselves, our work, or our God... we have an insatiable thirst for glory. From the 4th grader who longs for the glory of being first in line, to the middle aged man who longs for the glory of having the best golf score amongst his friends, all of us crave glory. Charles Spurgeon demonstrated his awareness of this great reality when he said the following:
“The heart of man has an everlasting hunger given to it, and if you could put worlds into its mouth, it would still crave for more; it is so thirsty, that if all the rivers drained themselves into it, still, like the deep sea which is never full, the heart would yet cry out for more.”
Regardless of age, gender, race, or background, we all crave glory.
In his letter to Titus, the apostle Paul writes:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, WAITING for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The posture of the Christian life is one of waiting. From the day that we are brought from death to life, we await the day in which we shall see God, no longer dimly, but face to face. We wait for the day in which we shall see the glory that we have longed for our entire lives. We wait for the day of His return. We wait to be free, not just from the penalty of sin, but also from the presence of sin. The entirety of the Christian life is one of waiting.
Each and every day we're put in a position to find peace in our personal glory, our church's glory, or our God's glory. But only one of these is capable of bearing the weight of being our blessed hope.
Spurgeon explains further, saying:
“Man is truly like the horse leech; ever he says, ‘Give! give! give!’ and until the cross be given to the insatiable heart, till Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of Him that fills all in all, be bestowed, the heart of man never can be full.”
So today, in the midst of trials and struggles, are you waiting for the glory to come? In the midst of financial stress, marital strain, and spiritual depression... are you waiting for our blessed hope, the glory of God, the filler of the insatiable heart? If indeed we have tasted of this glory, if we've truly been brought from death to life, we will wait.
As Horatio Spafford famously wrote, "Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed His own blood for my soul." The glory we crave is the glory of the One who shed His own blood for our soul. This is the glory our hearts have sought after all our lives. This is the glory that can outshine the darkest and most remote parts of our soul. This is the glory of the One who will wipe away every stain of sin and every tear from our eye.
The darkness is passing away, and the light is already shining. Lift up your head, weary saint. Look... and keep waiting. Glory is coming.
David Noe
David is currently serving full time as a student pastor in Rutledge, Tennessee. He is engaged to be married to his best friend, Hope, this spring. He loves roasting coffee, watching The Office, and supporting his Tennessee Vols.