God’s Glory, Our Hope
It can be easy—in the midst of our day-to-day lives—to neglect to see how ordinary, everyday moments can bring glory to God. But every little moment can be leveraged to bring him praise—whether it’s meditating on God’s Word in the morning, singing a hymn of praise in the evening, or sharing the beauty of the gospel with a friend. Even the most minute things, like marveling over the sunrise, praising God for your first cup of coffee, or acknowledging the Creator of the flowers in your garden can point us and others to his glory! The psalms are rich with language that gives glory to God, pointing us to who he is and why it is good for our hearts to praise him. You see, our very beings were created to give glory to God (Isa. 43:7), he alone possesses all glory and he alone is worthy of all glory, and when we give him the glory that he is rightly due, we find our eyes lifted in his direction, our hearts inclined more towards his character, and our mouths more full with praise.
In this week’s episode we’re looking at the doxological psalms. The Greek word “doxa” means “glory,” so the doxological psalms are an expression of glory, or songs of praise that give glory to God. We pray this episode prompts you toward praise as you meditate on the glory of God!
DOXOLOGICAL PSALMS
The very essence of hope means that things aren’t the way they should be. Hope is acknowledging that the world is not right and people are messed up, while at the same time trusting and seeking something better. As we lean into this tension we are compelled to believe more firmly the character and promises of God.
Three thousand years ago David hoped in God to be his refuge and his salvation; today we too can have confident hope in the character of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ. Just as David looked forward to salvation by a promised Messiah, we look back on the finished work of that Messiah and we look forward to when the hope that Christ promised is fully realized.
This hope that we have is not just faith for today… it is faith for every single day on earth until our hope becomes a reality at the coming of Christ. It is not simply wishful thinking, rather it is assurance that is grounded in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Hope is faith in the future tense.
Hope is a joyful confidence in our future reality—the reality that in heaven all things will be made right, every tear will be wiped away, death and destruction will be no more, and—best of all—we will be with God.
This world is broken, yes. But God has not left us without hope. He has promised to be with us always. He is an ever-present, all-powerful, steady and unchanging refuge, a place of safety and protection.
May your songs of praise be rich with the reality of hope that is offered to us in Christ. And may you look with expectant faith and hope toward the soon-coming Christ, who will one day return and make all things right.
RESOURCES
In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions Through the Psalms
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is something you can praise God for right now, in this very moment?
What are some ways you could incorporate praise into the everyday moments of your days? Brushing your teeth to a song of praise? Praising God for his character when you get to a red light? Singing a simple doxology as you pray over your dinner?
Think about a specific circumstance, relationship, decision, or grief that is causing you suffering or distress. Now spend a minute thinking about your future eternal reality—the reality that if you are in Christ, you WILL be with him forever, where there will be no more crying, no more pain, no more death. How does thinking about that reality change the lens through which you see your current circumstance?
How might meditating on God’s character as revealed in his Word lead you to praise? If you’re struggling with where to start, here are a few passages that point to God's glory: John 1, Hebrews 1, Isaiah 6, Revelation 21.
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Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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