for my name's sake...

Isa 48:9-12 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined
thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it:
for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto
another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am
the first, I also am the last.

Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that
endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill
you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

The Lord never promises that we will live lives that are devoid of trouble and free of affliction. In fact, He promises to bring both blessing and affliction to His people. This can be an unsettling concept to deal with. Why would the Lord want to allow His children to be oppressed? We know that it is in His power to remove all of our problems, to give us a life of ease. Then why doesn’t He?

Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for
how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto
another.

The Lord isn’t interested in your fame. The Lord isn’t interested in my fame. The Lord is only interested in glorifying His own holy name. Whatever He allows, whatever He brings to pass, whatever He chooses to bring about in our lives, it is only for His glory. He loves us more than we will ever understand, but His name is more important than our earthly comforts. When we begin to wonder why the Lord has allowed things in our lives that are less than we desire or different that we would have chosen, we must stop and think. Is this bringing glory to His name? We’ll never be able to understand God’s ways because they are so much higher than ours, but we can take heart in knowing that we have a purpose on this earth, glorifying the Almighty God!