Jeremiah 9:24
“But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”
God is very clear in the Scriptures that man is not to glory in man. Jeremiah 9:23 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:” God knew very well that men like to glory in what they know, what they can do and how much money they have. Very simply, man is not to point to himself at all.
As God always does, He gives us something in which we can glory. The verse above says that if you are going to glory in something, then God should be the subject of your glory. Position is not something in which you should glory. The magnificence of one’s ministry should not be the focus of your glory. A man’s titles should not be the focus of your glory. Only God deserves all glory. In the verse above, God makes it very clear in what we should glory.
First, glory in the fact that you understand and know God. Understanding and knowing God will only come through spending time with Him. You will never know God if you don’t spend time in His Word. You will never know God if you don’t spend time talking to Him in prayer. You will never know God and understand Him unless you spend time serving with Him in the ministry. If you are not doing any of these things, then you have nothing in which to glory.
Second, glory in the lovingkindness of God. This is interesting because the only way you will understand God’s lovingkindness is if you have sinned, and He had to be loving and kind to bring you back to Him. In other words, knowing about God’s lovingkindness so that you can glory in it only means that you are a sinner who truly has nothing in which you can glory. Your worthlessness was made worthy through God’s lovingkindness. You are not anything of yourself, but you are only something because of God, and that is worthy of glory.
Third, glory in the fact that God exercises judgment. You will only understand this by going through trials. When you have served God and seen the world come after you, only after a time of suffering will you see God judge those who have tried to hurt your efforts to serve Him. Again, you are glorying in God because you had no part in bringing justice to the wicked.
Fourth, glory in God’s righteousness. This is nothing short of the cross of Calvary. You are not righteous on your own, but you have only had righteousness imputed to your record through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If we try to glory in our righteousness, then there is nothing worthy of glorying. Our righteousness is as filthy rags, but it was the righteousness of Jesus that allowed Him to die for us so we can have his righteousness applied to our record when we receive Him as Saviour.
Friend, when you look at these areas where we can glory, you will see that we truly have nothing in which we can glory on our own. Everything you have is because of God. Make your life one that points to God. If you ever try to glory in yourself, God will take you down for He will share His glory with no man. Take the time today to think about these areas, then glory in these areas by telling others about how good God has been to you.