Glorify God

"Man's true end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." - Arnold J. Toynbee

Upon waking up, part of my prayer includes this line: Thank you Lord for another day to serve you and glorify your name. But how can I be intentional in glorifying Him every day? 

Last Sunday at church, we were reminded why we should glorify our Heavenly Father and how can we give glory to Him. Let me share with you the lessons I have gained. 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations. 

- Psalm 100

Psalm 100, despite its shortness, clearly tells us three reasons why we should glorify God and seven ways to give glory to HIm. 

Three Reasons Why We Should Glorify God

1. For the Lord is good. God is good because it is His nature. Most of the time, we equate His goodness only to positive blessings like material wealth, good health, healing from sickness, success in our ventures, and the likes. But seemingly negative circumstances are also evidence of His goodness. Through trials and challenges, we can develop our character into His image. A loss of job maybe is His means to place us into a better workplace where we can really grow. A heartache can be His way to lead you to a more godly partner in life. Deteriorating health can be His course to teach you to truly depend on Him. God is good and His goodness knows no exemption. Psalm 145:9 says, "The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made." He gives blessings both to the believers and unbeliever alike. 

2. His steadfast love endures forever. God is loving. He is love. And His ultimate expression of love is when He sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Despite our unworthiness, God gave us a way to be with Him forever. 

3. And his faithfulness to all generations. God is faithful. The thing that always stood out to me whenever I read the Old Testament is His faithfulness to the Israelites. Time and time again, He showed them that He is faithful even if they are not. He makes sure that all His promises come to pass. Likewise, I realized how faithful God is in my life. I have rebelled against him numerous times and yet he never stopped pursuing me. Everything I am today is because of His faithfulness. 

Seven Ways to Glorify God

Once we believe in the reasons to glorify God, we are now ready to give glory to Him by obeying His commandments. Psalm 100 lists seven commandments:

1. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. We can do this literally. Shout out to Him. Jump for joy. In the age of social media, I believe we can also make a joyful noise to the Lord by proclaiming His goodness through our posts and statuses. 

2. Serve the Lord with gladness. There are many ways to serve the Lord. As a wife, I can do this by taking care of my husband and child. But the children of the Lord are also called to serve Him through a local church. I am very happy when I see elderly brothers and sisters-in-faith who tirelessly serve our local church. We have seniors who serve as ushers and even teachers. I believe that God continuously blesses them with good health and strength because of their service. Use your talents to be of service to Him. 

3. Come into His presence with singing. Church service starts with praise and worship. The touching, inspirational lyrics of worship songs remind us of His goodness and steadfast love. We can also start our days with singing. Make a playlist of your favorite worship songs to be played every morning as you commute or doing household chores. You can also start your devotionals with a bit of singing. 

4. Know that the Lord, He is God. We can glorify God by knowing Him intimately. We can do this by reading His Word. He reveals Himself in the Bible. Make Bible reading a part of your routine. There are many Bible Reading Plans you can follow. You can also read different translations of the Bible. 

5. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Begin and end each day with a grateful heart. 

6. Give thanks to Him. Continuously remind yourself that there is always something to be thankful for. In my bullet journal, I have a Gratitude Log. This is where I list something, or even someone I am grateful for every day. This encourages me to always look at the positive side and even view negative things that happen in my life in a positive, growth-inducing way. 

7. Bless His name. When God blesses men, they are helped or strengthened by God. But we cannot help God and give strength to Him. Blessing His name means joyfully recognizing his love, faithfulness, and goodness in our life. 

Glorifying the Lord does not only happen during Sunday at church. Glorifying the Lord should happen every day of our lives. Every day, let's be intentional in recognizing and praising His presence. Let's make Him part of our every action, decision, spoken words, and thoughts. Let's make Him the center of our lives. By doing so, we can fully enjoy Him as He intends for us to do. 

God bless everyone!

Yours, 

Lady