God’s Glory Revealed

“Does anyone want to share about a time or experience when they felt the glory of God?”

I scanned the room of my classmates, as my professor continued to press, “anyone willing to be brave?”

Blank faces.

I racked my brain thinking of the incredible moments with Holy Spirit I’ve enjoyed over the last few years. None came close to the passages of God’s glory we were reading in Exodus. Honestly, I wondered if I had truly experienced God’s glory, would I have even walked away from it? Wouldn’t I be a pile of ashes afterwards? Not sure of whether I had ever experienced His glory I continued to sit in silence with everyone else.

The question continued to stay at the forefront of my mind.

Meanwhile, my thoughts drifted to the message I had received from my pastor the previous night (Tuesday, Oct. 8th) about a football player from my alma mater, Warner University. The message relayed that he had been practicing with his team and suffered a heart attack, resulting in his passing. Even without knowing the young man, it seemed a devastating tragedy. He was so young, a healthy athlete, enjoying his school, his girlfriend, his life…and suddenly he was gone. The campus was reeling, suddenly faced with the stark realization of death’s permanence and seemingly “random” selection.

Coming from someone who is great at ignoring what is right in front of them, there’s no denying something like this. I could only pray that through his death, people would be pushed to the Lord.

On Thursday morning, I attended Warner’s chapel service to pray for and support the student body as best as I could. Upon arriving, I slipped into the back where many students and faculty were lined up due to the overflowing chairs in the church sanctuary.

A powerful spoken word about the pain of loss and the reality of God’s heart for us was played;

Raw and exposed. It was as if every wound in the sanctuary had been ripped open, and every bleeding heart was now openly questioning God, His goodness, and His glory. 

The resident life directors spoke, pastors and coaches got up and said verses and stories, and the altars were opened for people if they wanted prayer.

Throughout the service, I began to feel the strong sense of tug of war all around me. Through my minds’ eye I looked around the open space and could see those dark shapes of oppressive spirits gripping the legs and necks of the students. Whispering into their ears the lies of a cruel God and a hopeless world and sucking the life out of them. I could also see God’s angelic forces fighting them, great warriors gleaming and majestic as they tried to free each person from the weight the enemy was crushing them under.

The pianist begins to sing “Thy Will” by Hilary Scott. I felt the spirit rising up in me and began to sing along to the lyrics;