01/21/2018
Are you a servant to all those surrounding you? Have you humbled yourself sufficiently in order to put your own desires behind you, so that you can be obedient to the example that Jesus has placed before you? If so then God bless you, but if not then take a long look at who you truly are. Do you see much difference in the person you once were and the one you are now?
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,”
Philippians 2:8-9 ESV
When we think about the fall of Satan we say things like he was evil, he was jealous of God, or he saw himself greater than God, but if you boil all of those things down and reduce them to the essence that is at their heart you will find one underlying fault in him... he couldn’t humble himself, or in other words he didn’t have the heart of a servant. If you contemplate that reasoning you will realize it is true... because you will recognize it to be the same proud voice which He uses to tempt you today.
Years ago, I was sitting in my office working when a fellow employee came in, and in a hushed tone said “have you heard? Billy is getting the promotion that should have been yours!” I heard the news, and anger arose in me. That was the job I had been working towards and I was the most qualified for. My pride began a struggle that was as old as creation itself... it fought to unseat my humility. I was fighting a spiritual battle inside.
Have you faced similar happenings in your life? It doesn’t have to be a promotion, it can be someone’s affection, the new car your neighbor bought, or any number of things. Has Satan attempted to bring out a spirit of pride in you meant to overshadow the humility that obedience to God has nurtured in your heart... humility?
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
James 4:10 ESV
Jesus wasn’t weak; He wasn’t a man with a milk toast disposition; He was the epitome of strength, but it flowed from a humble heart, and absolute obedience to God’s will. If He had been weak then He would have succumbed to Satan’s temptation in the desert, or said “No” in the Garden of Gethsemane. It takes great strength and faith to obey God in the face of our own pride. It took great strength for the Son of God to deny himself and remain humble before His Father.
So if you want to see a difference in the old person you were, and the new person you are becoming through Jesus, then be strong, obey, but most of all humble yourself. You should be a servant first and foremost to God, but that will also manifest itself in the way you walk through this world and your life.
As for the promotion that I didn’t receive? Well what I couldn’t see at the time was the place that God was preparing for me... one from which I could speak to the hearts of those in my workplace about Jesus Christ. I said no to Satan that day, but that wasn’t the first time, and I would have to keep saying no... Satan is persistent because we are worth so much. Obey as Christ obeyed, be humble as Jesus was humble, and become a servant as He did.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the humble nature of your Son Jesus Christ, but most of all I thank you for His strength in obedience to your will. Help me Lord to be like Him in my walk of faith, and in my journey through life. Make me strong Holy Father as I face the pride within me, and resist the voice of Satan as he attempts to circumcise my will, and place it above yours. He is false and conniving, a Spirit that seeks my downfall... give me the power in my humility to tell him to get behind me. Let the Holy Spirit comfort me in those times when I am moved to give precedence to my own desires. Merciful God I long to serve you always, and to serve your children as Jesus did when He walked these dusty roads. Hear my sighs Father, see the dust rise up in tiny balls as my tears of joy and faith fall at your feet. Know that my heart is yours Lord, and walk before me always... teaching me to serve others before myself, and you in all things.
Rich Forbes