What Is the Glory of God and Why It Matters
The glory of God is a term used in often in the Bible, but it can be difficult to truly understand. What is the glory of God? And what does it really mean to glorify Him in our everyday lives?
I was talking with one of my coworkers about her children behaving at school. She marveled at how well behaved her strong-willed daughter was for her teacher.
“You see, they have this couch in their classroom,” she told me, “and whoever is the best behaved the day before get’s to sit on the couch during story time while everyone else is sitting on their mats. Only one person gets to sit on the couch each day. My daughter would do anything not to sit on the floor; she just lives to sit on the couch.”
What is the Biblical meaning of the Glory of God?
Eventually it came to mean…
- honor
- abundance
- riches
- splendor
- dignity
- reputation.
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God’s glory is costly.
Revelation 19:1 says “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”
I don’t deserve any glory.

God’s glory must cost me something.
God’s glory cost Moses friends. It cost Abraham his home. It cost Joseph his freedom.It cost David years of fighting. It cost Job his family. It cost Jonah his prejudices.It cost Mary her reputation. It cost Peter his livelihood. It cost Paul his safety. It costs many their lives.
How dare I expect it to cost me nothing.
What does the glory of God mean for me today?
As I have continued to think about the weight of God’s majesty, I don’t think that this question is hypothetical.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do–do all for the glory of God.”
God’s glory in my life is all-encompassing. At some point, I truly believe, God’s glory will demand something precious of each of us.
So my question now has been “How can I prepare now, so that when the time comes I am able to give up something costly for God’s glory?”
I think if we look to Moses’ example in Exodus we can gain a few insights on HOW we can come to the point of being able to surrender whatever so that God will receive the maximum glory.
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Above in Exodus 33:18 Moses asked God to “show me Your glory.” If we look ahead to Exodus 34, we can see how God answered Moses request:
“The Lord passed before him…and Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
How Do I Glorify God?
1. Bow and worship.
“Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped…”
See Him for all He is and BASK in His presence. Worship is acknowledging and responding to who God is. You can worship with prayer, with song, with dance, with art or music.
2. Ask for His presence.
“…O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us,…”
I really think this is key: God going with us in the midst of us. Relationship. Everyday. Everyplace.
Not just at church or in our “quiet time.” But a growing awareness of His movement and activity in the nuances of our lives. Living every second in the reality of who He is and that He loves you and wants to be your friend.
3. Recognize our own stubbornness and sin.
“…for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin,…”
According to Isaiah 64:6 all of us, even us candy-coated church kids are disgusting, filthy, stinking rotting bags of poopy diapers. Or used menstrual pads, if you like a direct translation.
There is no self-medication.
There is no answer apart from Christ’s blood; his blood spilled on the cross in order to cleanse us once and for all from the curse of sin and bring us into a relationship with Him.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
-Hebrews 1:3
4. Abandon yourself.
“…and take us for your inheritance.”
Let God take you. Surrender to Him. Let Him take the wheel of your life–resist the need to steer where you think you should be going. Abandon yourself to God’s complete control.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Once an inheritance is given it cannot be taken away. If you are a child of God, He is holding the deed. And He is never letting go.
Only God gets to sit on the couch, friend.
When God asks me to surrender my treasure for His glory, I pray I hear the voice of a friend, the soft whisper of the One I walk with daily, the One I trust implicitly.
Even now as I think of my dearest treasure, my heart constricts, the panic rises, “Please, God, please don’t ask for that.”
In the same breath I panic and I pray.
For God daily in my midst, for abandon to His Plan, and for rest: knowing anything His glory might cost me is well worth it.
I was truly blessed reading this article. I am a retired pastor 85 years old.
I look forward to reading more of Katie M. Scott’s writing.
Never get to old to learn and be blessed!
Pastor Dunn that is so kind! Glad to have you here.
Thanks for the wise words.
Thanks Katie…I pray the Lord continues to bless you, your family and your ministry…
This was the best explanation of Yahweh’s Glory I have found. I too have walked with him for 40 years but we keep learning more as long as we keep breathing. If only we would share more as openly and honestly as you did! My last book but first fictional
One regarding His Truth is now out. Hope you may visit my website. MARANATHA!!
Thank you for sharing this. It has helped me so much in my journey. My faith is rekindled about the subject “The glory of God”.
I have this article bookmarked on my phone, and I have read it more than four times. Each time, I discover a new insight.
Thank God and God imbue you with more wisdom and knowledge in His word. Amen.
Funmi, 53 years
London UK.