Well, so far you have won but you haven’t gotten anything. Weeks pass and you tell everyone you know about the big prize you’ll be getting. You are pretty excited, no doubt! Still, you don’t have any money in your pocket much less your bank account yet. But…you know its coming and you are jazzed.

Peter wrote to a group of people who, though they had never seen the Lord—as he had seen the Lord—they believed in Him, in what He would bring to them (salvation, see verse 9), and were filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

The Greek word doxazo can be found twice within the few words of 1 Peter 1:8. Doxazo comes from the root word doxa. Doxa is translated “glory,” “glorious,” “honor,” and “praise.” When reading doxa within the New Testament scriptures we get a sense of something magnificent, majestic, and excellent. There is a supremacy and a need to render to the Lord that which belongs solely to Him: our praise, our honor, and our worship. In doing so, we glorify Him. By using the word doxazo the writer pens a manifestation and acknowledgement to God for what He has done.

We must stand and sing!

What has God done for you lately? Think outside the obvious and to the little things you might not have noticed. For example, when I woke up this morning the world was dark outside my window. I poured my coffee then came back to my office to read a while. My cup was empty so I went back to the kitchen for more. Glancing out the wide window over the sinks I noticed the sun’s light in its first peek over the horizon. The sky around it had turned an incredible shade of pink. A fuchsia, really. “Wow,” I said to no one. “Look at that.”

I leaned my forearms onto the counter and watched for a few minutes more, then whispered, “God, you are so good.”

Later today, I noted the more obvious reason to thank God: a much needed check I’d been waiting for came in the mail. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

So let’s go back and look at Peter’s words: Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are doxazo (filled) with an inexpressible and doxazo (glorious) joy.