WILL YOU GIVE GOD THE GLORY?

“So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied.” — Acts 12:21–24

God does not tolerate shared glory because divided glory always leads to distorted worship. — PG

Moses once asked God a question that feels almost dangerous in its honesty. “Please, show me Your glory.” He was not asking for information, strategy, or success. He was asking for weight. Moses understood that life without God’s glory might still function, but it would never truly lead. God’s glory is not a bonus for faithful people. It is the atmosphere God intended His people to live in.

The tragedy of the modern Church is not resistance from culture. It is our ability to adapt to life without the manifest presence of God. We still gather, still sing, still preach, and still move at full speed, but something heavy has lifted. The fear of the Lord has been replaced with familiarity, and trembling has been exchanged for technique. Ichabod rarely arrives loudly. It settles quietly where God’s glory is no longer honored.

Samson’s story exposes this more clearly than we like to admit. He did not lose strength because he stopped moving. He lost strength because the Presence lifted. Motion remained, but power departed. The Church has become dangerously skilled at confusing momentum with anointing, activity with authority, and noise with power. If it feels productive, we assume it is spiritual.

God never reveals His glory to entertain His people. He reveals His glory to govern them. Glory carries weight. It humbles leaders, silences flesh, exposes sin, and demands surrender. This is precisely why it is resisted. We often want God to visit, not rule. To touch, not transform. To bless, not break. But God’s glory does not coexist with pride or independence.

A.W. Tozer once wrote, “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.” That’s the issue today. We have no fear of the Lord, because we think so low of Him today. When there is no fear, there is no glory.

Psalm 24 asks a piercing question. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? The answer is not giftedness or visibility. It is clean hands and a pure heart. Glory responds to consecration, not charisma. It does not chase talent. It rests where reverence lives.

America does not need louder churches. It needs repentant ones. The glory of the Lord does not return to performance. It returns to trembling. When glory returns, self promotion loses its voice and obedience regains its power.

Isaiah heard angels cry holy without end, yet the earth was filled with God’s glory. Heaven never grows bored with His glory. We do when awe is replaced by routine. Familiarity always dulls wonder.

Jesus faced this same tension in the wilderness. Satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Fame, influence, recognition, and applause were all on the table. Jesus rejected temporary glory for eternal glory. Satan can elevate people, but elevation without God’s glory always carries a cost.

Herod learned this the hard way. He was not judged for his position, clothing, or ability to speak. He was judged because he accepted praise that belonged to God. Pride consumed him from the inside out. Scripture makes it clear that what the fire of the Spirit is not allowed to consume, the flesh will eventually use to consume us.

God gives gifts freely, but His glory is not transferable. We do not add to God’s glory. We simply acknowledge it and live beneath its weight. When people look at our lives, the goal is not admiration for us, but awareness of Him.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Pride cannot live beneath the cross.” If people leave impressed with us, something is misaligned. When God is glorified, pride is displaced and lives are rightly ordered again.

Live This Out Loud

Turn On: “Let The Alabaster Break by Lizzie Morgan and proceed through the rest of this section and prayer.

Examine where success, talent, or recognition may have quietly replaced dependence on God in your life.

Practice giving God verbal and visible credit in everyday moments rather than reserving it for spiritual settings.

Choose obedience in private even when applause in public feels more appealing.

My Prayer

Holy Spirit, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I ask You to forgive me for learning how to function without Your glory. Return holy reverence to my heart and realignment to my life. Strip away pride that competes with Your presence and teach me to tremble again. May my life point unmistakably to You, and may everything I carry reflect Your weight and worth. Right now in this moment, I give You the glory that is only Yours. Amen.

“The Lord your God will make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you.” — Deuteronomy 1:11

Marked By His Presence,

-PG