When God’s Glory Passes By: Understanding Divine Presence in Our Darkest Moments
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to see God’s glory? Throughout Scripture, we find people desperately seeking to witness God’s presence, especially during their most challenging times. From Moses on Mount Sinai to Jesus in the garden, the desire to see and understand God’s glory remains a central theme of faith.
What Does It Mean to See God’s Glory?
The word “glory” in Greek is doxa, meaning radiance and splendor. In Hebrew, it’s kavod, meaning weight or significance. But glory isn’t just a theological concept. It’s something we’ve all experienced.
Think about standing on a mountainside watching the sunrise peak over the hills, feeling that sense of awe. Or holding a newborn baby whose tiny fingers wrap around yours, shaking you to your core. That overwhelming sense of wonder you can’t quite put into words, that is God’s glory.
Moses’ Bold Request: “Show Me Your Glory”
The Context of Crisis
In Exodus 33, we find Moses in a desperate situation. After the golden calf incident, God told the Israelites they could go to the Promised Land, but He wouldn’t go with them. This was devastating news for a people who had experienced God’s presence throughout their journey from Egypt.
Moses pleaded with God: “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us.” The people needed assurance that they weren’t alone, that God’s presence remained with them.
Face to Face, Yet Hidden
Scripture tells us that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend.” Yet when Moses boldly asked, “Show me your glory,” God responded that no one could see His face and live.
This creates a beautiful paradox. The first “face to face” describes intimate, relational closeness, heart to heart communion with God. The second refers to divine transcendence. The reality that while we can experience God’s presence, we cannot fully comprehend His essence.
God’s solution was both protective and revealing: “I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, and you will see my back.”
How Jesus Bridges the Gap Between Infinite and Intimate
Jesus’ Prayer for Glory
In John 17, Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” This wasn’t a request for personal recognition. It was Jesus asking that through the cross, humanity would see God’s glory revealed.
About 1,500 years after Moses, God’s glory would pass by again. But this time, it wouldn’t be on a mountain with thunder and lightning. It would be on a cross, where most people wouldn’t recognize it as glory at all.
Glory Revealed in Sacrifice
When Jesus hung on the cross, God’s glory passed by Pilate, but he didn’t recognize it. It passed by the crowds who saw only a criminal getting what he deserved. Even the disciples, who witnessed it, didn’t understand in the moment.
Yet this was the very thing Jesus prayed for. That through His sacrifice, we would see the full weight of God’s glory. Not in power and might, but in self-sacrificing love.
Why We Can Now Look at God’s Face
The Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. Want to understand God’s heart? Look at the cross.
John began his Gospel with this truth: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
No longer do we need to hide in the cleft of a rock. Through Jesus, we can look directly at God’s face and see His glory revealed in perfect love.
What Does God’s Glory Look Like Today?
The Throne Room Vision
The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of God’s ultimate glory. John saw the throne room of heaven where creatures never stop declaring, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Twenty-four elders bow and lay their crowns at God’s feet, saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.”
But the most striking image is the Lamb who looks as though it had been slain, yet lives. This is Jesus—still bearing the marks of His sacrifice, yet reigning victorious on the throne.
Finding Glory in Our Struggles
During difficult seasons, when we’re praying for healing that doesn’t come, when we’re facing loss, when God doesn’t show up how we think He should, it’s easy to wonder where His glory is.
But if we’re watching carefully, even in our hardest moments, we can see God’s glory and goodness. We know how the story ends. The throne room scene John described is reality today. Christ is King, He has conquered, and He reigns.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to look for God’s glory in unexpected places. Instead of waiting for dramatic displays of power, watch for His presence in:
- Acts of sacrificial love
- Moments of unexpected grace
- Times when hope persists despite circumstances
- The quiet assurance that you’re not alone
Remember that the God who once hid Moses in the rock has now become the Rock we hide ourselves in. His presence is with His people, not just in mountaintop experiences, but especially in the valleys.
Questions for Reflection:
- Where have you been looking for God’s glory that you might have missed it?
- How does understanding Jesus as the revelation of God’s glory change your perspective on current struggles?
- In what ways can you trust God’s presence even when you can’t see His full plan?
- What would it look like to live with the confidence that Christ reigns, even in difficult circumstances?