God’s Glory Displayed
I recently demanded to see the glory of God, just as Moses did on Mount Sinai. Our women’s ministry group was hosting nationally known author and speaker Sharon Jaynes at our church on December 12th. Jaynes, the author of fourteen books, presented the message, “A Christmas to Remember;” a fabulous presentation on how to keep the Christ child as the focus of Christmas.
However, after a great deal of promotion within the church and outside of the church, the number of women who signed up for the event was just over one-hundred, well below our initial goal of one-thousand women. I admit I was disappointed because, as the leader of our Women’s Fellowship and an evangelist in many ways, I wanted more women to benefit from Jaynes’ message. I saw this presentation as a tool to reach the community for Christ.
The day of the event came and as I had done in the days leading up to Jaynes’ talk, I prayed for every aspect of the day. I prayed for the women who worked at the event; I prayed for the technical details; I prayed for our praise and worship team; I prayed for Sharon Jaynes and her message; and I prayed that the Holy Spirit would speak to the women who attended. “God show us your glory!”
When Moses was on Mount Sinai asking this same question, God replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.” The Lord God followed up on his promise and it’s recorded in Exodus 34. “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
I believe the same God who revealed his glory to Moses, displayed his glory at the Sharon Jaynes event in Flower Mound, Texas. As I sat at the event and took a breath for the first time in about a week, I felt the presence and glory of the Lord move through the sanctuary. Several times during Jaynes’ message, my eyes welled up with tears as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. Jaynes closed out her talk with a video of different families from all over the world, speaking their native tongues, reading the Christmas story from Luke 2. During the sound check, prior to the event, that particular video played, but I was so busy with other details that I didn’t take the time to pay attention to it. I realized later that I should have, because I had to get up and close the event after it played. It was touching to see how the Christmas message has reached the entire world! I could hardly speak after watching the video and realized we are a very small part of God’s great and glorious plan.
After the ladies enjoyed some dessert and coffee and Sharon Jaynes signed books, we saw her off at the airport. After weeks of worrying about the numbers, I thought, “It was a perfect event.” “I wouldn’t change anything.” Later that same day, Sharon Jaynes e-mailed me with even more exciting news. She asked women to write on a card what their gift to Jesus would be this holiday season. Later, Jaynes had prayed the prayer of salvation with the group. She then asked that the women who accepted Christ during that prayer to place a heart on their “gift to Jesus” card. Jaynes looked through the cards when she arrived home and told me eight women made professions of faith! Eight women? That was almost one-tenth of the entire group! I realized God can do magnificent things no matter how large or small the turnout! His glory passed through the sanctuary and eight women responded!
I learned a lesson from this experience. I realized that I should never doubt God, no matter how the situation looks, and when we ask for Him to show his glory, He will show up!
