What's Hindering The Glory?
Well, a couple of weeks ago, the Spirit of God posed this question to me "What's hindering the glory?" He knows that I know what the Glory is and that I endeavor to usher it into my realm of influence on a continuous basis.
The Glory of God is His manifest presence...His character and essence...His power...His fulness. Are you experiencing this depth of God on a regular basis in your personal life, in your prayer time, in your worship group, and at your "church" in response to your fellowship with Him?
Have we grown so accustomed to a counterfeit glory that we don't even know to hunger for the real thing?
As I was lamenting over this very real dilemma, I came upon this piece "Is The Glory Of God Departing From Us?" by Doug Stringer on the Prophetic Insight column in Charisma Magazine; so I'll share a few of his insights here. He reminded us that "Private disobedience causes public powerlessness."
In his piece Stringer reviewed the period of time in I Samuel 3-4 when the Israelites suffered the defeat of allowing the Glory of God to depart from their mist (Ichabod). He goes on to say..."Like Israel, many in the church are just going through the motions, relying on traditions and practicing an institutional Christianity. But God's presence is no longer there and our institutions are powerless. We have been fooled into thinking our private sin goes unnoticed, but what we do in private has a public, corporate effect. The enemy continues to win battles and take ground in our nation, largely while the church goes about our business as usual. We blame our losses on the government, politicians or those who disagree with us, with little understanding of the role we've played in our own defeat. The key to victory is not the ark, nor our Christian institutions, but obedience. Disobedience causes the lamp to go out and the presence of God to depart. Without His presence, there can be no victory."
I stopped doing the "church" thing years ago and proceeded as God directed me to seek Him and to live in His presence as a lifestyle. And this has been my life's work to mentor and disciple others to be sure to do the same because with no accountability people cast off discipline in their private lives and show up at the "church" in a corporate setting with only a form of godliness. And this should not be! There is so much more to God's Kingdom than most of us are experiencing. Remember, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (I Corinthians 4:20). Once you've walked in and actually witnessed true Glory, nothing else satisfies.
No, all is not lost because God is indeed "working His plan of redemption." He is raising up a spiritual nation that won't settle.
Will you pay the price for His Glory to abide in your mist?
