God is Present

“I have created you for My glory; I have formed you, yes, I have made you.” Isaiah 43:7

Why was I born?

Have you ever asked yourself that?

Isaiah 43:7 gives us God’s answer straight up: “I have created you for My glory; I have formed you, yes, I have made you.” It’s pretty clear: God made you so that you could reflect His glory back to Him. Consider yourself a mirror which by itself would be nothing, but let it catch the sun and it can send light everywhere. That’s what God wants to do in your life—He wants you to reflect His power and His glory.

Glory is what emanates from God. I’ve often said, glory is to God, as wet is to water, as heat is to fire, as light is to bulb. Although we can’t see God (1 John 4:12), we can see His glory in creation and in His people when they model His character, particularly His holiness. Glory is the proof that God is present.

God’s purpose in your life is to bring glory to Himself or to put Himself on display to the world. You do that in big, obvious ways like your lifestyle choices, the way you treat others, etc, but also in small, seemingly unnoticed ways. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” In commanding us to glorify Him, God invites us to leave His fingerprints on everything we touch.

When we think of glory, often we imagine it as light. Many verses in the Bible describe a dynamic, personal relationship with God as “light” and a believer who lives in fellowship with God as “walking in God’s light” (1 John 1:7).

I can’t explain God’s light to you. I just know the Bible references it over and over again. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, Exodus 34:29 says his face glowed. When Jesus was transfigured before the disciples, His face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2). How appropriate then that Christ promises in Matthew 13:43 that “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” and told us that the ones who put their trust in God are “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

It’s no wonder then that the prophet Isaiah said that “your light will break out like the dawn” (58:8). If you’ve ever been up before dawn, perhaps on a night when some crisis robbed you of sleep, you know what it’s like to wait. For hours the world is shrouded in darkness, then suddenly the black horizon turns navy, then purple, then lavender, then (Pow!) the sun breaks through! Isaiah says that when God shows up in your life, you shine like that. Light spills over from your life into a dark world.

Child of God, never question again—the reason you were born is to bring glory to God. His glory, the evidence of His presence, is reflected in you as you put God on display in your life. You don’t have to worry about manufacturing the light yourself, it’s God’s light! So today, in whatever and everything you do, stand like a mirror on display and reflect Him to the world.