Whatever you teach or preach you are tested on.
A few months ago I was preaching a sermon series based on the great doxologies of the epistles. I had preached Ephesians 3:20-21 one Sunday and called it “The Middle Praise”. The idea behind the title was that in the middle of things, when we can’t see the ending and when we see anything but the glory of God being worked out, we should give Him glory. This is not because it is magic or an automatic process, but because it gets our focus changed.
Two nights later I was challenged on this very issue. I overheard a comment which really discouraged me. I was very down about it for close to an hour. Then, I began to think about what I had preached just that Sunday, and I decided that I needed to live up to it. So, in the car I started saying good things about God. They didn’t have anything to do with the negative I was trying to overcome, but were only about His goodness. I put my experience out of the picture, and filled it with God.
It was amazing, but the moment I started in that all the weight went off my heart. Glory works, not because it is an independent power, but because it brings you to God who is the great worker of all.
When you are down or have a need or are in the middle of something with no end in sight, say something good about God. His glory will do something for you. Glory works.
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