rebelling against low expectations

How can we glorify God on a daily basis?

H

ZIPPORAH WRITES: It is easy to glorify God when working on large projects devoted to Him, but what about the days that occupy most of our week, when we are doing school work, chores, or at work? How do we glorify God in our daily lives?


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are submitted by real rebelutionaries who are looking for godly answers to tough questions and lively conversation with other young adults. You can join the conversation by commenting below. If you'd like to submit your own discussion question, email us at [email protected].

76 comments

  • I LOVE this question, bro!

    To me, there are 3 very important and cool ways we can glorify God. So here you go:

    Three ways to glorify God:

    1) Obey Him. Like in the Old Testament when Saul wanted to sacrifice to the Lord instead of obeying Him and destroying the cattle in the enemy city. God desires we obey Him more then He desires we try to please Him.

    2) Do your best. “Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, because He made you…” This includes long term missions projects, doing homework and playing Football. Doing your best doesn’t mean obsession. Obviously, you could stay up all night practing Football drills, but that’s obsession, beyond doing your best. That’s not what I’m talking about.

    If you just try your absolute hardest and study/practice/train enough, then just give your 100% effort, that is glorifying God.

    3) Praise Him. Make it obvious that He is more important to you than anything and that the only reason you are able to live with all your skills and abilities is because Him

    4) Stay humble and remember Who’s in charge. Remember Who gives and Who takes away. That’s something that took me awhile to fully do.

    5) Love others and Love God. God loves you like you couldn’t imagine. But He loves other people just as much. He wants us (Christians) to “share the hope that is in us” and “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all Creation.”

  • FYI, Zipporah is a girl’s name…

    And I LOVE your answer! 🙂 I actually submitted an article to the Reb that goes along the same lines.

  • I think @trent_blake:disqus summed it up pretty well 🙂 I would say that for me especially, it is my attitude every day that I needed to work on the most. We are commanded to have a Christ-like attitude and treat others kindly and love them. Like Trent said, obeying Him brings Him glory. It’s always been a daily struggle for me not to snap at people when I’m in a bad mood, instead of being patient. I’m not consistent in this area, and God has really showed me that attitude plays a big part in giving Him glory in my own life.
    And, of course, spend lots of time in the Bible and praying every day! I know this is a cliche answer, but it’s one of the best things you can do to give Him glory 🙂

  • Hi Zipporah! (Love your name, btw!). I would challenge you to ask yourself this question: Aside from the fact that they have a Godly purpose, what is it about those large projects that glorifies Him? What is it about what you do in those projects that brings Him glory?
    @trent_blake:disqus pretty much has the answer covered. 🙂 In those large projects, you were being obedient to Him by following His calling, you most likely gave it your very best, etc. So just take what you did there and apply to your every day life! If God is calling you to do the dishes for your mom, as silly as that may sound, you are glorifying Him when you are obedient to that calling. When you totally focus on your school work and give it your very best, you are glorifying Him. The possibilities (and opportunities!) are endless!
    I hope this helps; God bless! =)
    Christy

  • I Second @trent_blake:disqus. His answer is super helpful. I also think that it really comes down to your attitude, like @MyNameIsAnigoMontoya:disqus said. I struggle with that… a LOT. Your attitude towards God and others affects everything you do. When your attitude pleases God, the “little hard things” glorify Him too. Thanks for asking this question Zipporah!

  • Hey Haylie, sorry for jumping in randomly but is your school going to Regionals this year? Just wandering. Great question by the way, and good response @trent_blake:disqus. It’s the mindset that we need to cultivate until it becomes 100% habitual.

  • Faithfully serving Him in the mundane tasks of everyday life is a good start. We are to do everything well for the Lord…whatever that may be!!

    “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” >>Colossians 3:17

  • Like the others have said, God delights in faithfulness. So it’s partly cultivating an attitude of ‘well, it might not be much but it’s for You.’

  • Now I have it stuck in my head! 😛 lol 🙂
    I can’t believe you already have 17 up-votes! It really was an awesome answer. =)

  • I just get here in the early mornings, and since I’m on the East coast, I get here before most people in the rest of the U.S. do. And people tend to upvote the first comment posted. Then the most upvoted comment gets upvoted. It’s a chain reaction, it seems.

  • I wanted to respond to this question but when I saw everyone saying how you did such an amazing job summing up the whole answer I thought I would read your response and I can totally see that I couldn’t have said it better! Thank you so much Trent for being on here because you give everyone amazing advice all of the time!

  • Hey Clare,

    I don’t share these things because of my “wisdom”. It’s all in God’s Word. And you know, even if I had that, but not God to spell out the Words for me, I wouldn’t understand.

    God is the Light of the World. I am a curtain that He chooses to shine through, even though He could do a much better job without me.

    I pray that God would help me to remember one very important thing: my life is nothing, only a passing thing. But God is my hope; He uses me and He uses you to accomplish great and amazing things.

    Not because we deserve it, but because He loves each and every one of us, enough to die for us. He died for each and every person of the world. It’s our amazing privilege to share Him with the whole world. 😀

    You’re awesome: because of Jesus!

  • Speaking of how to respond to praise…

    I really like the curtain illustration. I’m totally stealing that!

  • Everything that Trent Blake said! 🙂 I think once we realize that our spiritual, God-honoring life is to be integrated with everyday day life, then we see that we really should do everything (yes, school, dishes and cleaning included. 😏) as unto the Lord by doing our very best, with a mindset of serving others. Glorifying God and everyday living are not to be seperated!

  • From his second point: “Do every little thing you do to the glory of the One who made you, because He made you…” … From Steven Curtis Chapman’s awesome song, “Do Everything”. 🙂

  • Well there are a TON of ways to glorify God, and I think that Trent explained it really well. I would like to add though that when we read our Bibles regularly, everything else kind of falls in. 🙂

  • “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a very great thing.”-Amy Carmichael

  • I love your name!!!
    I think @trent_blake:disqus pretty much answered this perfectly.
    The way that I try to glorify God daily is by living out what I’m teaching. If I’m telling friends and little kids that I babysit to love one another because Christ loved us, then I should love.
    I’ve used this quote before: “Preach the gospel, use words if necessary.” It’s so true! A way to glorify God in everyday activities (i.e. school, sports, ect.) is to point others to Him through your attitude and behavior.

  • No unfortunately. Hopefully next year though! I was just thinking how much i miss getting ready for it 🙂
    Are you going?

  • Have you read A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Eliot. It’s pretty much my favorite biography ever.

  • Thank you everybody for the helpful and encouraging comments! I am so thankful that there is a way to be able to get answers from people I have never met!

  • Oh too bad, yeah it’s a blast, and just a little bit stressful, haha. And yeah I am. I’m leaving this Monday. *Psyched

  • Can anyone tell me how to make paragraphs in a comment?
    I put them in nicely using the enter key, and then when I hit “post” they all merge into one [long] paragraph 🙁

  • Hmm, I’m not sure.

    Do you use a computer to comment? If you’re using a phone, it might be messing with the formatting…

  • Hey Joyful joyful, I have never had that problem…I wonder if it is your computer or browser or…? I’m sorry I’m not much of a help! 🙁 Hopefully one of the many computer-geeky Rebelutionaries on here will know. (I can totally understand wanting to know – formatting is a huge thing for me for whatever reason. ;)) )

  • Are you using a phone? I’ve always had trouble with that on my phone, but never on the computer.
    On my phone, I hit “enter” twice, and that usually works. But I’m not that great with technology so I’m probably not the best person to answer this. Sorry. 🙂

  • You should be able to type in <br> whenever you want a line of text to stop and move down to the next line. Doing that would be the equivalent of hitting enter, but it won’t indent the next paragraph.

  • I love what everyone has said on here! As an extra thought, there’s this great phrase that my mom and dad like to remind us of: Coram Deo. Before the Face of God. If you live your life consciously before the face of God and live it all for His glory, God will be glorified. You don’t have to specifically do anything. You just do everything. For Him. And God is glorified.

  • And challenging speakers too!! Definitely my favorite part of convention. Last year the speaker asked the several hundred teens in the audiance to come to the platform if they planned to be used by God, it was amazing, the people who were sitting were outnumbered ten to one. 🙂 And thanks! I leave tomorrow morning! 😛

  • Yeah, that’s soooo cool when that happens :). They always get such great, encouraging (and convicting) speakers! Man, now i can’t wait ’till next year!!!

  • Great answer Trent 😉
    just wanted to add to 5) Love God~ you know this is what God wanted from the beginning :)….loving God is about relationship… the more we comune with someone the stronger the relationship. So the more we comunicate with God the more we will glorify Him, as a result of being in fellowship with Him. Which comes from reading His Word (the Bible), doing what He says (obeying), sharing with Him, in prayer, everything on your heart, good & bad (asking for help or thanking/praising Him)
    Through GRACE He saved us not because of our righteousness but because He loves us.

  • I have not read the comments so I hope I’m not repeating.

    One thing that I like to do is find a verse that you really like. Find one that actually speaks to you and means something in your life and memorize it. Then if you’re feeling mundane or uninspired, remember the verse and say it out loud. Saying it out loud is important. Words have SO much power and if you practice this it will (eventually) actually be harder to return to that boring, everyday life. It is a process and you will not feel as if you’re on fire for God 24/7 but it does help with remembering His goodness.

    Another thing you can do is search out inspiration. Most people will have a church with worship nights or a place with bible studies. You could even go to a park and admire his creation or call a spiritual mentor. There are many ways to find Him and it’s okay to need a boost every once in a while.

  • Ask yourself if what you are buying will give them something substantial to donate, or if it is worth not buying. Today’s culture encourages the immorality examples shown above, and so many people don’t think twice about giving their business to such companies. Do you want to give the immoral charities of companies your money? Can you afford not to? If it costs too much in gas money to shop somewhere else, or this is the only place you can afford to shop at, the choice is clear. I will warn you, there aren’t many companies that are as brave as Chic-Fil-A, and so finding a moral source may be very difficult. If you just do not feel right giving your business to a place that supports, say, abortion, and you have the financial capability to change stores, then by all means, do so.

  • I think that we should read our Bibles every morning when we wake up, and every night before we go to sleep, so that we are prepared for the day knowing what God wants us to do to glorify him. I find praying to him and asking for wisdom helpful, too. Also, throughout the day, always think before you do something ‘Would this be pleasing to Jesus?’ or ‘What would Jesus have me do?’

  • Don’t go through the motions! the easiest thing as Christians to do is to go through the motions without any real drive or purpose without given it all to God! I did this for such a long time i went through the motions, not really caring were my mind or heart was when i was doing them. I went through each day like that so i could just get through it all. But then it all changed i can’t remember how exactly but i stopped being a brain dead human and started giving it all to God. Having a purpose for everything that i did. When i did school i was diligent and did as unto the Lord. i did it for Him so to speak. And that started to overflow into my dancing and school and just everything i started to do with a purpose and for His glory! What i have always said and thought as i’ve danced is that i’m dancing with a point! You can also go through life with a point! and if there’s no point to why you dance or why your walk through life than you have nothing. So yeah it’s hard to step out of the motions but it’s possible!! Just do everything unto God and for His glory! And DANCE WITH A POINT!!
    God Bless,
    ~Madeleine

  • We do this by not complaining about chores. Being kind to a brother or sister, even when they are on your nerves. Thanking God for all he has done for you, from your family to friends. Using the talents he has given you. Praise him for his works.

  • I tend to focus too much on NOT doing the bad things. Don’t do drugs, don’t drink, don’t party, don’t cuss, don’t fight, don’t say God’s name in vain, don’t do this or that….blah blah blah. Or going through the motions – read the Bible, pray, go to church. I sometimes forget that I need to DO more stuff to change the world. I need to stop focusing so much on being a “good kid” that I forget to do hard things. I forget that nobody really benefits by my choices to stay sober and all (okay, actually, people do benefit from that, and you should do good stuff and stay away from sin), I’m just saying I should be more proactive.

  • It’s hard work but it helps me to catch myself when I’m being grudging about doing stuff 🙂

  • Walk so closely with God that everyday is like hanging out with your best friend. You don’t really need to premeditate or worry about what you’re going to do together, you just do it. Know what God wants to do with you just as much as you would know what your best friend would want to do with you.:)

  • Amen. Part of the reason to be “good” is not to just be good, but to grow in your relationship with God. Keeping God at the centre is a great way to grow in your relationship and glorify God. I especially need to make sure I don’t focus on motions, but the relationship that results in (properly motivated) actions.

  • Hey @trent_blake:disqus, thanks for the post.

    Question: how do I hold myself true to my decisions?

    Often, I think, that I have decided to do something, but then temptation hits, and my decisions seem to fall apart.

    How does one increase willpower to do what is right?
    How do we “do hard things” when we can’t build up our resolve to do them?

  • Well, I heard it said like this:

    Suppose I told you “Don’t think about elephants”, what would you do?

    Eventually, you would think about elephants.

    But, what if instead of trying so hard not to think about elephants, you just concentrated on something else, like a flower?

    It would be much easier.

    It’s the same thing with sin and temptation.

    We can try all we want to not sin, but if we concentrate our energy on “not sinning”, then we will eventually sin.

    However, if we concentrate on God, and obeying Him, one thing at a time, trusting He knows what’s best, it gets easier.

    Now, we will still sin, because we’re all human. But the truth is that we can’t do it ourselves, only God can help us overcome our sin.

    Make sense?

  • Makes sense. I think, that is what I am beginning to learn.

    Thank you very much. 🙂

  • Saw this quote…

    “GOD IS MOST GLORIFIED IN US WHEN WE ARE MOST SATISFIED WITH HIM”…

    not what we do, but to trust & rely on Him.
    When our “satisfaction” is because of a right relationship with Him, not trusting in ourselves (our own strength) or trying to live up to the world’s expectations. Being, as Paul says, “content with my circumstances,”(BTW that’s not content with living in disobedience) because no matter where we are or what we’ve done. GOD LOVES US and sent Jesus to rescue us and being forgiven by our Creator is the best place to be 🙂

rebelling against low expectations

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