In Isaiah 40:3-5, Isaiah painted a grand mural of God’s glorious coming to earth. The word picture of God’s glory—His kabod—is vivid in Hebrew. In some contexts, this word means “to be heavy, weighty.” God is heavy with splendour and magnificence.

In contrast, man’s greatness is as insubstantial as a blade of grass that withers “when the breath of the Lord blows upon it” (Isaiah 40:7). Yet, how tempting it is to claim the credit ourselves for the mighty works God does in and around us.

Perhaps no one feels that temptation more than those who serve God in a public ministry—those who have been called to hold His glory in sacred trust. Whether their work becomes a movement of God or calcifies into a monument to themselves depends on one crucial factor: who gets the glory.