Sharing the Credit

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

Do you know the feeling of not getting the credit for something you have done? Granted, that could be a good thing if your original idea turns out to be a flop, but normally the feeling of forgotten credit is not a pleasant one! Sometimes I have a great idea for camp in the summer, but when everyone starts using it, no one remembers that it came from me-and that hurts!

According to Isaiah 42:8, with whom does God wish to share His glory? The answer is no one. He also mentions in chapter 43 that He made His people for His own glory. Verse 7 says, “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” God declares in verse 21, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”

Second, remember that God made you for a purpose. God formed you to show forth His praise. God will not share His glory with idols made in the hand or in the mind. There is not enough room in our lives for God and a substitute-it is exclusively one or the other.

If God would not share His glory with great and powerful kings like Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus (43:10-15), why would He share it with us? Who gets credit for your life? There are only a couple of possible answers: the world, you, or God.

Consequently, you do not have to be a braggart to give away God’s glory-you can give it away by not calling on God. Isaiah 43:22 says of the children of Israel, “But thou has not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.” The moment they thought their provision came from an idol or from self, they lost the power and provision that came from God alone. The same consequence is true for us today in 2008. We can dismiss a clear answer to our prayer as happenstance or our own ability; but God will not share His glory, and we are weakened when a new need comes up in our lives.

God formed us, and He formed us for a reason. That reason is for the glory He deserves. May it be true of your life today that God-not anyone or anything else-gets the glory for your life.