My Ultimate Goal, His Ultimate Gift

Anne Graham Lotz

From Jack: I have known Anne Graham Lotz for more than twenty years. I have watched her grow as an author and speaker, and I have had the privilege of publishing several of her gift books. She truly walks with God and is faithful to her calling to boldly write and talk about what Christ means to her.

My life's goal is to know God better today than I did yesterday, better tomorrow than I do today. I want my life to bring God glory. I want to know Him and to make Him known, so that when people see me, they will want to know Jesus because of what they see of Him in my life. It’s possible to achieve this goal if I am sick or well, rich or poor, loved or rejected, young or old. I can also achieve it as I submit to surgery for cancer, as I sit in a hospital waiting for chemotherapy, as I lie on a radiation bed. I can bring God glory speaking at my father’s funeral, or kneeling at my husband’s grave, or preaching from a podium, or fixing a meal for my family.

In the Old Testament, Moses told God that he wanted to see His glory (Exodus 33:18). So God told Moses to stand in the cleft of a rock. Once Moses was in position, God put His hand over this faithful servant so he could feel the Lord’s presence. Then God passed by, removed His hand, and told Moses he could see only the backside of His glory: “My face shall not be seen” (v. 23).

Like Moses, when you and I long to see God and reflect His glory, He may also put us in the cleft of a rock . . . in a hard place like a disease, divorce, death, or other disaster. We may initially feel His presence, but then He may remove His hand and allow us to feel abandoned . . . utterly alone. In that moment, we may not sense God’s presence at all, but when we look back on that experience, we see the glory of God’s character; we are able to recognize His faithfulness, mercy, truth, goodness, and love. In retrospect, we realize that God has been with us all along.

So be encouraged. One day we will be in heaven where there will be no more hard places of death, disease, or disasters; and no more tears, or grief, or sickness, or pain. Old things are going to be wiped away, and everything will be made brand-new. Best of all, our desire to know God will be fulfilled. We will not see just the backside of God’s glory; we will see His face (Revelation 21:3–4; 22:4)!

And that will be heaven . . . the ultimate gift of God’s peace!

Reflection

Think about a time when you looked back on a hard place and realized that God had been with you all along. What may have kept you from that awareness in the moment? Why is this retrospective look significant to you?