Welcome to 2011! Sure, it's just another day, but it's also a good time for some re-evaluation. I'm not suggesting that you come up with a bunch of lame New Year's resolutions that you won't keep. I'm suggesting that you take a quick look at your life, do a little inventory, check out your commitments, and figure out what it is you're doing here. Check out this devotional reading by Chris Tiegreen:
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Brilliant flashes of light, gyroscopic movements, mysterious faces, and a glowing presence. Those are feeble words describing an awesome vision—"the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD," according to the prophet. In other words, Ezekiel is saying, "This is the best that words can do." But he implies—and we know from his response—that it was more than a strange vision. It was the indescribable presence of majesty.
That sense of majesty—of great glory, unimaginably inspiring and impossible to grasp—is the sense that every believer should live with. It prompts prophets to declare God's truth with superhuman courage, and it drives painfully human worshipers to their knees. If we live without a sense of excitement, going through the routine of our days with rote motion and chilling apathy, we don't have it. We aren't living in the presence of God.
That's an absurd picture: In one realm, there are flashes of lightning, powerful winds, shouting angelic voices, and indescribable fire and motion. In another realm, there are lukewarm people going through stale routines without much enthusiasm, energy, or hope. That's expected of people who have never known God. It's inappropriate for those who have.
How can we who dwell in the passionless, visible realm live with the perspective of those who have seen the eternal flames of glory? For starters, we can begin each day in the posture of Ezekiel's response: We can fall facedown. In other words, we can worship. Given enough truth, time, and practice in the art of adoration, we got greater glimpses of God's glory. And if a day begins with that, it is anything but a routine day.
If you are bored with life, lacking energy, and losing hope, try spending more time in God's presence. Ask Him to reveal His glory. Life will never be the same.
Hmmm, think about those words. People going through their stale routines or boring lives, doing spiritual things out of habit or tradition…how can this be if they've seen the glory of God? Like the author said, "That's expected of people who have never known God. It's inappropriate for those who have." So evaluate your life. Take a look at your heart. Do you see glory or borey living? (Hey, I had to tie it back to my lame title somehow.) Seriously, though, how can we live in God's presence and be so apathetic?
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