A Grievance Glorified

No one gets excited over the trials in life. No one prays for heartaches or hardships. No one goes through life seeking the sad, the crushing or the terminal. No one wants to make themselves available for oppressive times but maybe we should. Maybe as we are trying to make the right choices and live according to God's will we should let it be known to Him that while we are praying for His will and protection we are willing to sacrifice comfort and security so that He may be glorified in any and all situations.

Psalm 50:15 says, "and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me."

Glorify. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary "glorify" means:

1 a : to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration b : to elevate to celestial glory 2 : to light up brilliantly 3 a : to represent as glorious

That sounds easy enough but what if "to glorify" really means to allow the heartaches, the burdens, the sorrow? Strong's Hebrew Dictionary explains "glorify" this way:

kabad or kabed {kaw-bade'}; a primitive root; to be heavy, i.e. in a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) to make weighty, abounding with, more grievously afflict, be chargeable, be grievous, harden, be (make) heavy, be heavier, lay heavily...

Not so appealing anymore, huh? "To be heavy, in a bad sense or burdensome, grievous..." not exactly how I want to define my life as a Christian but as the saying goes, "no guts, no glory", where is the glory in the easy, the light or the fun? It's not that the Lord wants us to go through life afflicted and downcast, He rejoices with us in our victories, He just knows that in order for us to really "get it", sometimes we have to go through things that are heavy and grievous before we can really understand what it means to glorify Him. To know that we can not survive without Him, to call for His help, to feel His mercy and grace as He holds us and carries us through the storms we experience and then to praise Him for allowing us to 'weather the storm' is what it means to glorify God.

Thank you Lord for the clear skies today, help me to be prepared for the storms that may come and teach me to never be afraid to get out of the boat, even when the waves are crashing all around me, and walk toward you.

Here's a recipe for a no grievance dinner:

French Toast Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with Honey Mustard
8 slices of thick bread
1/2 lb. thin sliced smoked deli ham
4 slices cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp honey

Preheat electric griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. In a shallow baking dish mix eggs, milk and nutmeg. Make 4 sandwiches using the bread, ham and cheese. Melt butter on griddle then dip each sandwich (both sides) in egg mixture. Cook until golden brown on each side. In small bowl mix mustard and honey and serve with sandwiches along with fruit salad and sweet potato chips (thin sliced sweet potatoes, tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt baked at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes). Enjoy.