I learned a Hebrew phrase years ago that still fascinates me...
Ayah Asher Ayah which means: I am that I am or I will be whoever, whatever I choose to be.
God is complex.
He is simplistic.
God is diverse.
He is unique.
God is intricate.
He is a paradox!
When I think about what the Glory of God is like, the visual that comes to mind is volcanic smoke; it is all-consuming, spreads quickly,
and everything is covered by it, all that can be seen is smoke!
The more I meditate on the parallel between volcanic smoke and the Glory of God, the more I have to acknowledge that both are overwhelming, weighty, beautifully majestic, and extremely terrifying;
it is because both are all-consuming!
How can we comprehend this?!
Moses asked for God to show him his glory and even he could not look directly upon God. Every time Moses came down from the mountain the people would ask him to cover his face because it was too bright, radiant, and brilliant; it was all-consuming!
...hope anchors our souls and causes us to enter his presence behind the veil! We are able to step into this terrifying place to be liberated.
It is healing!
Yes, it is weighty!
Yes, it is overwhelming!
It is all-consuming!
They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne...
...and who can withstand it?”
-Revelation 6Will we choose to ask for God to show us his glory, knowing that it is all-consuming, or will we be like the people at the throne who insanely begged for rocks to fall on them and the people who wildly begged Moses to cover his face?!
their faces are never covered with shame.
-Psalm 34
The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
-Numbers 6
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
the knowledge of that which is holy is understanding.
-Proverbs 9
Wisdom makes your face shine,
and the sternness of your face is changed, softened.
-Ecclesiastes 8
The more we let God's glory consume our lives,
the more radiant we become!
but it is also majestic!
The Glory of the Lord is the same...
...he is an all-consuming fire!
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Your ancestors didn’t escape when they refused to listen to God, who warned them on earth. We certainly won’t escape if we turn away from God, who warns us from heaven. When God spoke to your ancestors, his voice shook the earth.
But now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the sky", foretelling the removal of those things that can be shaken. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.
...And now these three will remain: faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
Therefore, we must be thankful that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Because we are grateful, we worship God with fear and awe in a way that pleases him. After all, our God is a consuming fire.
-Hebrews 12 and 1 Corinthians 13
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
-1 Corinthians 3
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
-Psalm 139
God wanted his people throughout the world to know the glorious riches of this mystery—which is, Christ is living in you, giving you the hope of glory.
-Colossians 1
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
-Isaiah 6
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders;
the LORD is over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
-Psalm 29
He spread apart the heavens
and came down with dark clouds under his feet.
He rode on the wings of the wind.
He made the darkness his hiding place,
the dark rain clouds his covering.
Out of the brightness in front of him,
those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning.
The Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High
made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
-Psalm 18
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke,
because the LORD descended on it in fire.
The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace,
and the whole mountain trembled violently.
-Exodus 19
Will we ask God to show us his glory
even when we know he is Ayah Asher Ayah,
I am that I am...
...I will be whoever, whatever I will be?
Yes, we will...
Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
-1 Corinthians 3
...we will be filled with smoke!
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame...
...because our God is an all-consuming fire!
-Psalm 34 and Hebrews 12
photographs are Google images