John 17 | What is the Best Possible Way to Glorify God?

If you are a true follower of Christ, you long for your life to count and make a difference. And, if your motivations have been rightly purified, you want God to be glorified, i.e., honored, better known, and worshiped.

How can you accomplish that in this life? Here's how Jesus did it:

"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:5)

SIMPLY LISTENING AND FOLLOWING

... was the key to discovering this work. Everything that Christ (the man) did was God-initiated. He kept looking at the things above (as Paul tells us to do in Colossians 3:1-4); heard what the Father wanted Him to do, and obeyed.

This process put Jesus in the middle of God's work.

THE END RESULT

... was that His life perfectly glorified God all the time. He fully accomplished the work God had planned for Him.

It was not easy. Christ's life was one of continual joy but also continual sacrifice. Descended to earth, living as a man, being misunderstood, being falsely accused, and dying for others was all part of God's will. But the results have been nothing less than supernatural. Millions of people came into the Kingdom because Jesus glorified God while on earth.

The same can be true of us. If we will simply listen to the Lord and follow Him, we will "accomplish the work which (God has) given us to do" and in so doing, will "glorify God on the earth" in the best possible way.

And, we can do it in any and every circumstance. As J.I. Packer said, “If we ask ‘Why is this happening?’ we may get no answer, but if we ask ‘How can I glorify God now?’ there will always be an answer.”

Father, I long to glorify You. Give me grace and power to listen well. To hear from heaven. To rightly and constantly discern Your will in each situation. And then, give me grace to instantly respond to the promptings of Your Spirit and the illumination of Your Word. Glorify Yourself, more and more, through me.