It ain’t over ‘til it’s over

Last week we enjoyed a few days of mid-winter warmth and sunshine, so I took advantage of that to walk around the Lunsford Trail at ACU after work. I was hoping for a beautiful sunset to accompany me!  Started out southbound and discovered fairly quickly that I had ensured my back would be to the sun most of the trip (i.e., mistake). We had some high clouds that were promising, but buildings obscured my view, and it looked like clouds close to the horizon were going to mess things up, so I just kept walking.  As I returned to home base, I thought sunset was over, but I decided to walk to the far side of the pond to stretch and cool down.  Then I turned around and the miracle began in earnest! First, bright red touched the tips of the clouds, then it expanded to the whole sky. Even the pond turned red as it reflected the glory overhead.  If I’d just gotten into my car and headed home, I would have missed it!

ACU's Faubus Pond, with the Hunter Welcome Center in the background

Sunrises and sunsets are like that.  They often unfold over an extended period of time, sometimes 30-40 minutes from start to finish.  There will be flashes of brilliant color, but those rarely last the whole time. Much of that 30-40 minutes will seem somewhat pedestrian compared to the times of magnificence.  Sometimes there are the cloudy days that seem colorless and endless. But even when it’s “over,” there is more glory yet to come – the beauty of a blue sky filled with cotton ball clouds, or the splendor of the Milky Way, or the rain that the clouds might bring.

Life is like that, too. Ups, downs, twists, turns - often more grey clouds than sparkling red and gold.

I think that’s why passages from 2 Corinthians resonate in our hearts. Paul must have been thinking about God’s glory and how it is revealed in the lives of women and men when he wrote these words:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:17-18)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:6-7)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)

So many days I don't feel glorious! So many mistakes, so many flaws, so many dreams unfulfilled. The amazing news is that God is in charge of glory! He's the Glory-Giver, Transformer, User-of-Clay-Jars, Renewer. He sees the glory unseen to us, the final result that is hidden from our eyes for the present time. He even sees glory in what we would view as the least glorious parts of our lives - the things we would rather hide - because He knows that those things, too, are part of what is bringing us to glory in reality.

So if you're having a hard time seeing the glory in yourself this week, take hope in the glimpses of glory in the world around you. God's work isn't over in you, and His purposes for you will prevail.