For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted."
Luke
14:11
The
standards of this world are not the standard of Jesus Christ… The sooner that
we grasp this concept, the sooner that we can start to reach higher levels than
we ever thought possible within our own finite power… This is the lesson that
Luke teaches us today in his gospel… There are so many people who have been
confused and found themselves falling short because they have not align
themselves with the will and desires of God… The people that fall into this
category are the ones who have been in prayer; however, they have not totally
turned the situation over to the Lord which means that they are lacking in humility…
There is something messing in their
lives and even though they call on the Lord they have not sought Him with their
whole hearts for Him to be found… This is the same thing that plagued the
rich young ruler in the gospel of Mark… Even though He knew who the Lord was,
He measured his happiness by his wealth and not his faith… Today, make the
decision to be humble so that God doesn’t have to humble you… This is a very
scary truth and is also why Luke starts off by saying, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled…” Make no mistake
about it, even though it may appear that people with pride and ego’s are
flourishing, this passage tells us that it won’t last and that they will reach
a point where there high horse comes crashing down… We see this all too often
with image based celebrities who fall back to earth through the most precarious
situations… Today, even though the majority may choose otherwise, you must make
a decision… Are you climbing the ladder of success defined by the world or by
God… The latter being the one which appears lease acceptable but is the most
profitable… The way to ascend is to go
down and the way to fall is to stand up… Luke teaches us the way of the
Christian life and how it is that we obtain exaltation… For many of us, this
way of thinking can be a major stumbling block or hurdle; especially when we
look at the worlds definition of success… Since we are born into this world we
enter with a (n) approach to life that is drastically different than what God
desires for us and from us… According to the world, we must make a certain
amount of money, live in a certain neighborhood and drive a certain style of
car to be considered successful; however, this success is not guaranteed to
either be reached or even be kept once and if we do reach that level… In the
blink of an eye a millionaire can find him/her self unemployed… Driving a fancy
car doesn’t mean that you can’t be involved in a car accident that claims your
life… When we begin to think on these things, we begin to understand why it is
important to seek the success that is obtained in God as opposed to the world…
The flashy clothes won’t be in eternity, the mansions and streets of gold are
set aside for billionaires, but the accumulated wealth isn’t money… We must
transform our way of thinking if we want to really reach heights that we never
thought were even possible… Instead of reading how to become rich, study the
word of God and trust Him wholeheartedly…
The
bible says, “He will supply all your needs according to His riches in
glory…” God will take care of you, when you are His child you have the
greatest wealth imaginable… You can call on your Father who never runs out of
resources and has the power to change or overtake any situation… Money can’t buy happiness nor can it buy a
plug for the voids you have in your life… A traumatizing experience can be
changed by money, a rough upbringing can’t be made any easier by money;
however, the love of God can comfort the comfortless, heal the brokenhearted
and set the captives free… In this life you have two choices… Luke tells us
that a man/woman will do either of these things; they will either exalt
themselves or humble themselves… Your life tells the story of which avenue you
have chosen… Exalting yourself calls for
everyone to take notice of what you are doing or trying to do; however,
humbling yourself means that you are not worried about pleasing men and that
you know that there is nothing of this earth that can out do the love of God…
When you humble yourself you push away the temptations to seek your own way,
when you humble yourself you open the door for Christ to lead you… When you
humble yourself you recognize that I can’t do it on my own and without God I am
nothing… In the 14 chapter of Luke we find Jesus sitting to have dinner with a
Pharisee on the Sabbath Day. As they are sitting Jesus begins to teach about
law verses grace and humility. In verse 11 the Lord is calling us to be humble,
having FAITH that HE will exalt us. As a Christian we have to realize that
worldly prestige means nothing to the eyes of The Great I Am. God is looking
for those who are not out for popularity or rewards. The Lord is pleased with
those who are serving him in spirit and in truth. Think about it, if Jesus
would have been here with prestige and all this popularity, HELL would have
already swallowed us up!!!! It’s a sobering feeling when you humble yourself;
it’s not an easy task… Just like we work for a living we have to work at being
and remaining humble… It requires a lot of sacrifice, it requires a lot of
prayer, it requires a lot of hard work and you will indeed feel the pains of
struggle… However, take pride today in knowing that when you struggle to seek
humility, when you fight to pave the right path and open the right doors God is
watching and is with you… He knows it isn’t easy and that’s why Luke says you
will be exalted… Your hard work will pay
off, your trials will be worth it and leaving the world behind you will plant
your feet securely on the streets of gold; where everyone who obtained success
on this earth at the expense of their relationship with the Lord would love to
be and would gladly then exchange their Stacy Adams for your sandals…
BE BLESSED!!!
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