Yesterday I was reading in Romans 11. The last verse in this chapter is a stunning statement about God.

I really liked the commentary note on this verse in the MacArthur Study Bible. It says, “God is the source, the sustainer, and the rightful end of everything that exists.” Both of these statements sound rather extreme, but in a very refreshing way because they are both so true.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that God is not some neatly packaged description that I am comfortable with. He isn’t easy to understand. I will never reach a point where I have perfectly wrapped my mind around God, where all He does will make sense to me. He is far too great and awesome for my mind. This is why it’s so important to always be reading Scripture. The Bible is not our guidebook or a neat book of lessons we should learn from. The Bible is God revealed. We should never take that lightly or flippantly but should always be devoted to the journey of seeking to know God from its pages.

I was blessed to have this verse pop up a second time in the same day, in a book I’m reading called Helper By Design. In the chapter “Called For His Purpose” Elyse Fitzpatrick says

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God’s purpose is always to glorify Himself. It is His
purpose, in everything He does and commands, to
bring glory, praise, and honor to His own Name, as
Paul wrote in Romans 11:36. Why did God create you?
To bring glory and honor to Himself.
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In the big picture of life it makes sense that God does all to glorify Himself. But when Fitzpatrick broke it down to me it seemed a lot more difficult to follow that train of thought. I, with all my mistakes and wanderings, exist solely to bring Him glory. I instantly think about the sin that is always present in my life. And then Fitzpatrick addressed this exact struggle in my thoughts later in the same chapter “We tend to have a very limited idea of what brings God glory: We tend to think that God is only glorified when our lives are nice and tidy.”

It is easy to see that this isn’t true. God is glorified in all things and all people. Scripture has recorded numerous examples of this–sinful men and women were used by God in their trials, weakness and against all odds to bring glory to Himself. Even though we don’t always see how our circumstances could accomplish an honoring end or how we could be used to bring praise to His name…God is working everything to the fulfillment of His good will.

I imagined having this perspective all the time–what a change it would make in how I live! God has placed you and me in our marriages, friendships, in our jobs, at the school you attend, in our families, at our churches for His glory. His goal is to conform us to the image of His Son bring Him glory. I know that if I could be reminded of this amazing reality often it could cleanse away discontent, feeling sorry for myself, or feeling a lack of purpose because I could be looking for ways to be an instrument to exalt His name rather than feeling lost or confused. Under God’s glory all things are then seen in the proper light.