Song of the Day
“Open Up the Heavens” by Vertical Worship
Scripture to reflect upon
- 2 Chron 7:2,
- Isa 60:2,
- 2 Chron 5:14,
- Ex 33:18,
- Deut 10:21,
- Ps 22:3 (ESV),
- Numbers 14:17,
Devotional thought
In the song Open Up the Heavens, we join together in lifting up the prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:18, “Show us, show us Your glory. Show us, show us Your power..” To cry out to God for Him to reveal His glory is in essence to ask Him to reveal His presence in a tangible way. It is our strongest desire to know that He is with us, that He is pleased with our praises, and that He hears our prayers!
The word “glory” means (in part) “weight”, and if we use this idea to understand what we are saying when we cry out to the Lord for His Glory (weight) to be revealed it makes a little more sense. For God’s glory to be among us, according to this definition, would then mean to feel a substantial, tangible weightiness of His presence and power with us!
I find it interesting that Moses calls upon God to show him His glory, because this is a guy that just spent 40 days and nights on a mountain with God! God wrapped the mountain with a cloud and spoke with Moses as a friend speaks to another friend! Moses wasn’t satisfied with that, He wanted to see all of God! Show me what I am missing. Let me see You Lord in all of Your splendor and power! This was the heart of Moses. God answered Moses with compassion, saying that Moses has a great desire but that he would not be able to handle the whole glory of God. Moses, or anyone else for that matter, would not be able to endure the full glory of God.
God did show Moses His goodness though! When He passed by Moses, He said this to him:
“‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
Exo 34:6-7 (NET)
When God shows us His glory, we are reminded of His goodness, His love, His compassion, His grace, and His forgiveness! The response to this is worship! When we fully embrace the glory of God, then we have no choice but to worship His holy name! I believe when we spend this time praising God and He enthrones Himself on our praises, we walk away from that meeting place like Moses did – radiating with a special blessing of the Lord’s glory upon ourselves. The only difference is that the glory we have is an unfading glory, not like Moses’ glory which faded in time (see 2 Cor 3:7-18).
So, join me in praying for God to reveal His glory to us, His people, as we praise Him!
Prayer
Oh God of Glory! You are magnificent and worthy of my praise! I adore You Lord, and I ask that You go with me wherever I am, just like You did for Moses. Guide and direct me to know You better, and to be where You are. Help me to recognize Your power and glory at work in my life. I need You Lord to show me Your glory each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen
