Seeing the Goodness and Glory of Godنموونە

DAY 1 — God's Glory is the Solution

Just before Jesus faced His most difficult trial—right before He went to the cross—He said something amazing to His disciples. This truth will empower you to go through whatever trial you may be facing, and come out victorious. 

John 16:33 says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 

In the midst of whatever trials or difficulties happening in your life or in the world, we have what Jesus has spoken to us—God's promises. When we believe them, they cause us to overcome. We can have peace in Him, because He has already gloriously overcome the world. Jesus said that by faith, because at that point, He hadn't even risen from the dead yet, but to Him, it was already done. 

God's glory is always greater than whatever we are facing. In fact, His glory has been sweeping over the entire world even more than the all of the trials. His goodness and glory will deliver us! 

God promised this in Habakkuk 2:14:

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the WATERS COVER THE SEA."

It doesn’t say as the “waters cover the earth” because water doesn’t cover the entire earth. But water covers the entire SEA. The sea is covered with nothing OTHER THAN WATER—the sea is totally immersed in water!

In the same way, God’s glory is going to cover the earth. And specifically: the knowledge of His glory will fill the earth. So, let’s get some knowledge here. God’s glory means several things in Scripture:

• His glory is His goodness. (Exodus 33:19)
• His glory is His manifest presence. (2 Chronicles 5:14)
• His glory is the arrival of His power to change a situation. (John 2:11)
• His glory is His people being all that He intended us to be. (Romans 3:23, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

The enemy is always trying to counterfeit what God is doing. So, when the enemy is sowing seeds of disease and hate, it’s trying to get our eyes off the goodness of God—which leads people to repentance and sustains us in our darkest moments. The enemy wants us living in fear and unbelief.

But like David, I want you to say with me:

"I would have despaired unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13)

This is my go-to verse whenever fear, anxiety, or depression comes at my soul. And I have been attacked by these things many times. But it’s my expectation of seeing God’s goodness show up that encourages me, powers me through, and accesses the glory and goodness of God. 

Tomorrow, I am going to practically show you how you can believe His promises and see the goodness and glory of God show up in every area of your life!