There is a longing inside every human soul to touch the divine. The ancient sage, known as “the preacher”, said “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecc 3:11) We have a longing but God seems to only partially fulfill the longing. He doesn’t show us everything … instead, He gives us glimpses …

The glimpses are all around us. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psa 19:1) God is always speaking. He is always reaching out but never in a way that overpowers. He is gentle and even the strong displays of His glory leave us with the choice to trust and surrender to His goodness.

But, why doesn’t He just make everything obvious about who He is? Why doesn’t He do more than show us glimpses? He did give us more than a glimpse in the person of Jesus. And even then, Jesus used “glimpses” to share the reality of His divinity and Messiahship. For those who had ears to hear and eyes to see, it was clear but He never forced Himself on people.

There is a cry of our hearts that says, “God, show me! Show me Your glory.” We often want Him to do the work for us … but He gives glimpses because making everything so clear would destroy the essence of relationship which is choice and love and trust.

Consider …
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Ex 33:18-23)

The truth is that all of life is dripping with His glory. In the sunset, we see His creativity. In a cloudless sky, we see His smile. In the starry night, we see His vastness. In the clouds and rain, we see His tears lined with the possibility of a new day. On a warm day, we feel His embrace. With the cool of evening, we experience His refreshment. In the laughter of a child, we see His playfulness and joy. In the rugged face of an old man, we see His wisdom. In the tears of a friend, we see His ache. In a loaf of bread, we see His provision for another day. In our hearts, we see that He exists.

The list could go on and it does. He is everywhere and seemingly unavoidable and yet, we frequently miss the glimpses.

A daily prayer …
Father, may I see You today in all that I experience so that my life would be an expression of You.

A moment by moment prayer …
Father, give me eyes to see You in this situation and in this person.