As a human being I have many desires. Some of my chief ones are the desire to be loved, the desire to have good friends, and the desire to live a long life. But once I gave my heart to Jesus, the overarching desire of my heart, which has only gotten greater over the years, is to glorify God. As a believer in Christ, for now 42 years, I concur and echo the words of 18th century Christian missionary David Brainerd, who famously said: “Let me forget the world and be swallowed up in the desire to glorify God.”1
But just what does it mean to glorify God. I think that the website GotQuestions.org sums up well what it means to glorify God when it states:
“To glorify God is to extol His attributes, praise His works, trust His name, and obey His Word. He is holy, faithful, merciful, gracious, loving, majestic, sovereign, powerful, and omniscient—and that’s just for starters. His works are wonderful, wise, marvelous, and fearfully complex. His Word is “perfect . . . trustworthy . . . right . . . radiant . . . pure . . . firm . . . precious” (Psalm 19:7–10). His salvation is astonishing, timely, and near. No matter how loudly or widely we proclaim the glory of God, He is worthy of more.”2
As human beings we often need to be motivated by feelings before we can desire something. But this should never be a sole motivator in glorifying God by our words and deeds. In fact, one of the greatest insights the Lord has shown me is that we don’t just praise and glorify God based on how we feel, but instead based on who He is. For we read in (Psalm 150:2): “Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” And when we realize just how great God is we will always want to praise, adore, thank, worship, and glorify Him.
Christian, if you are not excited about glorifying God every moment of your life, may I suggest you read and re-read (Psalm 119). For, I believe, that just as the psalmist shares his great love for the Word of God, throughout this magnificent psalm, as you read it you too will fall more in love with the Scriptures and their author – Jesus Christ. And as you develop a deeper love relationship with Jesus your desire to glorify Him can’t help but increase.
Think of it this way. As you fall more in love with Jesus and delight in Him, (Psalm 37:4) tells us: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” I believe what David is saying here is that when you delight in the Lord your desires become God’s desires and God’s desire become your desires.
I don’t know about you but the more I read, study, and meditate on the Bible, the more I fall in love with Jesus, and the more my desire becomes to glorify Him with my entire being. And this brings us full circle to what we read in the Westminster Shorter Catechism when it asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” It then goes on to answer the question as follows: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” And if that is my chief end in life then I pray that God will always make it my greatest desire. And the more we glorify Jesus get ready, and get excited, because the more you are going to enjoy Him – and this joy will last forever!
1 https://www.quoteslyfe.com/quote/Let-me-forget-the-world-and-be-500577
I am grateful for your devotionals. Your faithfulness has been inspiring and most helpful to me. I pray God will continue to bless you as we celebrate His birth and look forward to His return..