God's glory flows from his very nature and his acts. He is glorious in his character because there is such an abundance of everything holy, good, and lovely in him that he cannot be anything but glorious. The actions that flow from his character are glorious too. But while God intends for his deeds to reveal his goodness, mercy, and justice to us, he is equally determined that all the glory should return to him alone.

And what about us? Is there anything in ourselves worth glorifying? Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you didn't receive from the God of all grace? How careful we should be, then, to walk humbly before the Lord! The moment we glorify ourselves—since there is room for only one glory in the universe—we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High!

Shall an insect that lives for an hour boast against the sun that gave it life? Shall the clay pot exalt itself over the potter who shaped it on the wheel? Shall a speck of desert dust strive with the whirlwind? Shall drops of ocean water struggle with the tempest?

Give to the Lord, all you righteous ones! Give to the Lord glory and strength! Give him the honor that belongs to his name!

And yet—this may be one of the hardest battles in the Christian life: to truly learn these words, "Not to us, not to us, but to your name be the glory." It is a lesson God keeps teaching us, and sometimes he teaches it through the most painful discipline.

Let a Christian start to boast, "I can do all things!" without adding "through Christ who strengthens me," and before long he will be groaning, "I can do nothing," face down in the dust. When we accomplish anything for the Lord, and he is pleased to accept our work, let us lay our crown at his feet and exclaim: "Not I, but the grace of God that was with me!"