GLORIFY YOUR NAME

Recently I have been challenged to consider how Jesus handled moving towards his crucifixion. In John 12:27-28, Jesus says:

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” (NKJV).

How many times lately have I gone to God complaining because I don’t like the way things are progressing? More than I can count, I am sure. Yet Jesus shows us how to faithfully walk out challenging circumstances in this statement. There is more going on than meets the eye. My problems are not just mine. Do I recognize that? Sometimes. If I am honest, probably not as much as I should.

I have been in a season of shifting paradigms, of responsibility yet without authority or ability to change much of what has been happening. It has been a season of trusting God in a new way, facing hardships on a number of fronts, and choosing to trust God despite the problems. I have frequently experienced the troubled soul referenced in scripture and have searched for solutions without finding the golden key to fix everything. I have prayed, worshipped, read my Bible, and yet the challenges remain. However, God keeps redirecting me. And this verse has haunted me, as if guiding me to a different kind of action.

“Father, glorify YOUR name.” It has become my default response when I have been feeling pressed. I don’t always recognize how that is going to manifest or how my humbling season will in any way, shape, or form glorify Him, but I choose to trust He knows what He is doing. Does that make my problems go away? No. But it does make my soul less troubled. It also reminds me of where the real battlefield lay. God is about more than I can see and asking Him to move as He will can sometimes lead us through circumstances we would not have chosen, like the cross. But the cross is not the destination. The cross is the doorway to a resurrected life, fully united with our loving Creator. Remembering the journey is all about relationship with Him helps take the focus off the suffering of the cross and places it firmly back on the real purpose, the new life on the other side of the cross.

I cannot say I have liked this journey. I can say it has brought great healing and revelation. Everyone wants a miracle but nobody wants to need one, right? If you find yourself in a similar situation, let me encourage you to start declaring ‘Glorify Your name!’.