RETURN AND GIVE GLORY TO GOD

There is a difference between thanking God and giving glory to God.

When God does something good for you—when He comforts you, brings you joy, or answers your prayers—it is natural for anyone with a grateful heart to kneel down and thank Him. Often, believers also accompany their thanksgiving with a thank offering, which is pleasing to God.

However, there is something else that pleases God deeply and opens even greater doors of blessing: returning to give God glory.

To return and give God glory means to come back and openly declare what God has done for you, so that God is exalted among people. It is the public acknowledgment of God’s mighty works, testifying to His power, mercy, and faithfulness.

Sadly, many believers overlook this spiritual principle, yet it carries great significance. Have you ever intentionally returned to give God glory for what He has done in your life?

Let us consider this well-known passage of Scripture:

Luke 17:11–19 (NKJV)
“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’
So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’
And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’”

All ten lepers were healed, but only one returned, praising God with a loud voice and testifying openly about what had happened. The other nine may have been thankful. They may even have offered sacrifices. But they did not return to glorify God publicly.

This teaches us an important truth: thanksgiving is good, but testimony that glorifies God is even more powerful.

Giving Glory to God Through Testimony

God desires that His works in our lives become testimonies that draw others to Him.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.”
(Psalm 107:2, NKJV)

When God heals you from a disease that seemed impossible to cure, do you tell others what the Lord has done? Or do you only praise the doctors and never mention God?

When God gives you a child after many years of barrenness, do people hear a clear testimony that God intervened, or do they only hear about medical procedures and human efforts?

Everything we have—our health, life, house, job, education, promotion, strength, and provision—comes from God.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.”
(James 1:17, NKJV)

People should look at your life and remember the goodness of God, not merely your hard work.

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.”
(Psalm 115:1, NKJV)

God’s Goal Is Not to Shame Enemies, but to Save Souls

Some today try to “glorify God” through songs or messages filled with pride and competition, implying that God blessed them so their enemies would suffer. This is not God’s heart.

God does not fight for us in order to humiliate others. He works in our lives so that people may turn to Him and be saved.

“The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9, NKJV)

When you testify properly—explaining where God brought you from, what condition you were in, and how He rescued you—people stop competing with you and start seeking your God.

They will ask, “What must I do for God to do for me what He has done for you?”

This is the power of a God-glorifying testimony.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
(Revelation 12:11, NKJV)

A Call to Action

Never fail to return and give God glory for anything He does in your life, no matter how small it may seem.

Tell it in church.
Tell it to your friends.
Tell it to your family.
Tell it wherever God gives you an opportunity.

But make sure your goal is always this: that God may be glorified, not you.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16, NKJV)

May the Lord bless you abundantly.
Amen.

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