Hi everyone, I hope that you’ve been having a great week. I know I have, sort of. Getting up at 6 am each morning sort of blunts my enthusiasm just a bit. Anyway enough of the chatter, today I’d like to write about regaining the glory.
Our key verse comes from the book of Samuel. The kingdom of Israel was in a complete chaos, disorganised, in a war against the Philistines who had much more advanced weaponry. In an attempt to take the victory, they brought the ark of the covenant out to battle with them-the Ark of the covenant which contained the Shikanah presence of God.
There was one big problem, however, they forgot to make sure they were on God’s side. They had forsaken the God of the fathers, and he was no longer with them. So even with the ark of the covenant, they couldn’t prevail, in fact, they lost it. And that was a blow which I believe was felt around the nation.
The people of Israel had drifted away from God. They were still religious, but they had drifted away from God. The priests were still in the tabernacle, but they were abusing their rights. The people no longer honoured God the way he wanted them to. There were plenty of things amiss. But now even the very symbol of God’s presence in their nation had been taken away by the heathen armies of Philistia. Can you imagine the depression? The gloom? The despair? When they realised that God was no longer with them? When it became more than obvious that the glory had departed from Israel?
I think it’s best summed up by the passage which recounts the birth of Ichabod, the grand-son of Eli the High Priest who died:
1Sa 4:21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
Ichabod means ‘no glory’. What a name! Every time a read this passage, it tears me apart to think of the utter despair this woman had! The glory has departed from Israel. The glory has departed from Israel!
1Sa 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
I don’t know if others around her realised it so much, but she did, and as she died, it was among her last words, “The glory has departed from Israel! The splendour has departed!” Oh the anguish, the sorrow, the tragedy. The glory had long departed from Israel already, but now, they could no longer turn a blind eye. The glory had truly departed.
But now I want to take this into a more present context. Recently, I’ve found myself on the edge. I had let several things encroach in my life and push my spiritual life to the brink. I found myself empty and worn. The life I use to have was gone, and I was on a one-way track to breakdown. Finally, in what I believe was God’s plan, I came down with the bug. I had two days in a row off where all I could do was lie in bed. It was while lying in bed that I had a very good chance to re-examine my life. As I looked through it, I realized how dead and lifeless it had become. The glory had left my life. It had been weeks since I had felt a true touch of God, it had been weeks since I could truly say I had worshipped and been with Jesus.
You know, I wonder how the people of Israel felt, when they realised that the Ark of the Covenant was gone. I wonder what they did. To recapture the glory of God that had departed must have been one far off thought. I wonder if any of them tried straightening their paths. I think some of them would have.
Well I found myself, and still do, facing one massive mountain: how do you recapture the glory when it has departed? How do you breathe life into a lifeless body?
Quite simply, you can’t. God has to do it for you. And thank God for his mercies. But in order to get the glory back, you have to prepare yourself. You have to fix up what you can in your life.
In Israel, this event occurred when Samuel initiated a revival in which they put away their idols, prepared their hearts, and fasted. The Philistines heard of the gathering of the Israelites and attacked, but get this, the Lord fought for Israel that day! The glory had returned! God was fighting for them again!
For me, it involved throwing out the encroaching games, behaviours. And yes, it was hard, still is. Each morning I have to make myself pray. It made it even harder with the glory gone, when I felt so depressed and down, but by the grace of God, I held on. When I finally broke down at church during worship, I knew that I had finally cracked at least one wall down.
How can you get the glory back? You can’t, but God can, if you throw out the idols in your life, and prepare your heart and seek him.
Please, if you still have the glory of God in your life, make sure that you keep a hold of it. If you have lost the glory, don’t wait another day, get on the road of recovering that glory! Don’t spend your days struggling alone. Give it to Jesus, ask him to restore the glory that you once had.
If you find that the life has gone out of your living, that the fire has gone out of your relationship with God, that the time you once spent with/for God is now absorbed by other things, don’t waste a second in getting back on track. If you find that something is constantly diverting your thoughts from God, if something is burning up your God-given time, give it up. If you find that you can’t remember the last time God touched you, or you say, hey, I remember the touch God gave me several months ago, that felt awesome, you need to get the glory back in your life. Don’t wait for the very symbol of God’s presence to depart from your life. Don’t wait for God to send an illness to slow you down so you can reconsider your life. Don’t wait for a nervous breakdown. Because those things might never come. Today might be your last day. And God forbid that our story ends with, ‘the glory has departed from his/her life.’
If a weed is present in your heart, don’t wait for it to choke you, pluck it out. If something is getting out of hand in your life, draw a line and push it back, if necessary, cut it off altogether. If you find or feel that the glory of God has departed from your life, forget about everything else, focus on getting back the glory. Prepare your heart for God to work in it. Remove the idols that interfere. We never know which day will be our last, we can’t afford to be without God’s glory in our life.
Never let the glory of God depart from your life. Never again let the glory depart from Israel. Never again let it slip by. We can’t afford to live without God’s glory. May it never be said, that the glory departed from our lives, and if it ever does, make sure it comes back. Never let the glory of God fade from our lives.
In closing, I always remember those amazing times when God touches me, and for me, I don’t want to be thinking back several months. I want to be able to look back several days, and say, “There’s God’s presence.” There’s something wrong when we have to think hard to remember the last time God touched our lives, when we felt his glory surge through us. I never want to be stuck thinking, “Wow, that worship service last month was awesome!” I want to feel God’s glory every Sunday. I can’t afford to let his glory depart from my life for one minute. I pray that you have the same desire. Don’t let the glory depart from your life.
Our key verse comes from the book of Samuel. The kingdom of Israel was in a complete chaos, disorganised, in a war against the Philistines who had much more advanced weaponry. In an attempt to take the victory, they brought the ark of the covenant out to battle with them-the Ark of the covenant which contained the Shikanah presence of God.
There was one big problem, however, they forgot to make sure they were on God’s side. They had forsaken the God of the fathers, and he was no longer with them. So even with the ark of the covenant, they couldn’t prevail, in fact, they lost it. And that was a blow which I believe was felt around the nation.
The people of Israel had drifted away from God. They were still religious, but they had drifted away from God. The priests were still in the tabernacle, but they were abusing their rights. The people no longer honoured God the way he wanted them to. There were plenty of things amiss. But now even the very symbol of God’s presence in their nation had been taken away by the heathen armies of Philistia. Can you imagine the depression? The gloom? The despair? When they realised that God was no longer with them? When it became more than obvious that the glory had departed from Israel?
I think it’s best summed up by the passage which recounts the birth of Ichabod, the grand-son of Eli the High Priest who died:
1Sa 4:21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
Ichabod means ‘no glory’. What a name! Every time a read this passage, it tears me apart to think of the utter despair this woman had! The glory has departed from Israel. The glory has departed from Israel!
1Sa 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
I don’t know if others around her realised it so much, but she did, and as she died, it was among her last words, “The glory has departed from Israel! The splendour has departed!” Oh the anguish, the sorrow, the tragedy. The glory had long departed from Israel already, but now, they could no longer turn a blind eye. The glory had truly departed.
But now I want to take this into a more present context. Recently, I’ve found myself on the edge. I had let several things encroach in my life and push my spiritual life to the brink. I found myself empty and worn. The life I use to have was gone, and I was on a one-way track to breakdown. Finally, in what I believe was God’s plan, I came down with the bug. I had two days in a row off where all I could do was lie in bed. It was while lying in bed that I had a very good chance to re-examine my life. As I looked through it, I realized how dead and lifeless it had become. The glory had left my life. It had been weeks since I had felt a true touch of God, it had been weeks since I could truly say I had worshipped and been with Jesus.
You know, I wonder how the people of Israel felt, when they realised that the Ark of the Covenant was gone. I wonder what they did. To recapture the glory of God that had departed must have been one far off thought. I wonder if any of them tried straightening their paths. I think some of them would have.
Well I found myself, and still do, facing one massive mountain: how do you recapture the glory when it has departed? How do you breathe life into a lifeless body?
Quite simply, you can’t. God has to do it for you. And thank God for his mercies. But in order to get the glory back, you have to prepare yourself. You have to fix up what you can in your life.
In Israel, this event occurred when Samuel initiated a revival in which they put away their idols, prepared their hearts, and fasted. The Philistines heard of the gathering of the Israelites and attacked, but get this, the Lord fought for Israel that day! The glory had returned! God was fighting for them again!
For me, it involved throwing out the encroaching games, behaviours. And yes, it was hard, still is. Each morning I have to make myself pray. It made it even harder with the glory gone, when I felt so depressed and down, but by the grace of God, I held on. When I finally broke down at church during worship, I knew that I had finally cracked at least one wall down.
How can you get the glory back? You can’t, but God can, if you throw out the idols in your life, and prepare your heart and seek him.
Please, if you still have the glory of God in your life, make sure that you keep a hold of it. If you have lost the glory, don’t wait another day, get on the road of recovering that glory! Don’t spend your days struggling alone. Give it to Jesus, ask him to restore the glory that you once had.
If you find that the life has gone out of your living, that the fire has gone out of your relationship with God, that the time you once spent with/for God is now absorbed by other things, don’t waste a second in getting back on track. If you find that something is constantly diverting your thoughts from God, if something is burning up your God-given time, give it up. If you find that you can’t remember the last time God touched you, or you say, hey, I remember the touch God gave me several months ago, that felt awesome, you need to get the glory back in your life. Don’t wait for the very symbol of God’s presence to depart from your life. Don’t wait for God to send an illness to slow you down so you can reconsider your life. Don’t wait for a nervous breakdown. Because those things might never come. Today might be your last day. And God forbid that our story ends with, ‘the glory has departed from his/her life.’
If a weed is present in your heart, don’t wait for it to choke you, pluck it out. If something is getting out of hand in your life, draw a line and push it back, if necessary, cut it off altogether. If you find or feel that the glory of God has departed from your life, forget about everything else, focus on getting back the glory. Prepare your heart for God to work in it. Remove the idols that interfere. We never know which day will be our last, we can’t afford to be without God’s glory in our life.
Never let the glory of God depart from your life. Never again let the glory depart from Israel. Never again let it slip by. We can’t afford to live without God’s glory. May it never be said, that the glory departed from our lives, and if it ever does, make sure it comes back. Never let the glory of God fade from our lives.
In closing, I always remember those amazing times when God touches me, and for me, I don’t want to be thinking back several months. I want to be able to look back several days, and say, “There’s God’s presence.” There’s something wrong when we have to think hard to remember the last time God touched our lives, when we felt his glory surge through us. I never want to be stuck thinking, “Wow, that worship service last month was awesome!” I want to feel God’s glory every Sunday. I can’t afford to let his glory depart from my life for one minute. I pray that you have the same desire. Don’t let the glory depart from your life.
