Filled with Glory

Have you ever had a keylime bismarck at Devils Lake Doughnuts?

If you thought perfectly puffed pastry rolled in powdered sugar couldn’t be improved on, then you haven’t gotten to the keylime pudding in the middle. 

When the Apostle Peter wrote to the believers in exile, he reminded them that they should “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

Maybe I was hungry when I read Peter’s letter this week, but it made me think of keylime bismarcks. Joy is good, but the glory filling is better. 

Joy, like the pastry part of the doughnut, is the awareness of God’s grace, but the glory filling, like keylime pudding, ascribes weight (or importance) to God’s grace because I have a growing recognition of its real substance or value.

In addition to being exiled, the believers who Peter was writing to were facing threats of persecution and danger. They were certainly in need of Spirit-produced joy, but Peter wanted them to have even more than just outer contentedness.

He knew that their joy would need substance if it was going to be able to help them through their trials and dangers.

As a boy mom, I have had to learn all sorts of things about trucks and tractors. This spring, my husband used our old tractor to till the garden and to haul some heavy loads. He was explaining to me that tractor tires are not full of air. (Who knew?)

Tractor tires are full of water.

When they come up against a load or obstacle that is very heavy, the water in the tires gives the machine better traction and the ability to push or lift the obstacle. Otherwise, the tractor would be forced backward or be compelled to stop. It would be unequal to the task.

Joy is like tires for the Christian- it keeps us moving- but the glory inside our joy is like the water in the tires that gives us traction when we encounter heavy obstacles. 

There is no grief, no loss, no struggle, no persecution, and no setback that is as weighty as the glory of God. 

There is also no other joy that has this sort of glory. If I rushed to Devils Lake Doughnuts whenever I encountered hardship, a keylime bismarck might provide temporary happiness and a weightiness of a different sort, but it wouldn’t produce joy filled with glory. 

So where can I find this joy filled with glory?

I found it today in Jesus, my Savior, when His people gathered together to worship Him despite the obstacles they are facing.

Today at church, in the face of loss, persecution, hardship, and disappointment, the Body of Christ gathered with joy inexpressible and sang in harmony to praise Him for the greatness of His glory. We read His word and were reminded of His goodness. We prayed together and were filled with His Spirit. 

We “believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.” 

That is even better than a keylime bismarck.