Tag: prideful

Underrated, but Significant | August 2, 2024

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For miracles to take place, you don’t need much.  With God, the smallest nothing can be of the greatest significance.

Great news indeed, for those who are dwarfed by the circumstances of life or who come in undersized, underrated, or undervalued.

But with God, the undervalued and overlooked nothing has the potential to become so much more.

A mother in 2 Kings 4 found this out for herself.  After her husband died, the family was left in a state of financial ruin that would be detrimental unless a solution was found for their money woes.

Creditors were threatening to rob this woman of all she had left, her two sons, to help satisfy the debt she could not pay.

With widowhood already her new normal, and now she was looking at the possibility of losing her children, she ran to the prophet Elisha with her desperate plea for help.

I don’t know what she expected or exactly what type of help she was hoping to get, but when she poured her heartful request before him, I’m sure the answer she received was one she was not expecting.

After questioning her about what was available in her house, he found out the woman had only a lowly pot of oil.

Not much indeed, according to how the natural eye sees it, but when we invite our Heavenly Father’s hand to help our most desperate cases, miracles can happen even with the smallest of starts.

That’s why Jesus taught His disciples about “mustard seed” faith (Matthew 17:20).  When they went out to do the work that He sent them to do, even if He was not physically with them, their job was still to keep their composure of belief, which He stated, only needed the smallest, true measure of faith to work.

The biggest acts, with the biggest voices, and the biggest things can’t help but grab our attention.  But it’s the underrated lowly pot of oil, it is the unimpressive and least flashy thing that God can use to bring about the greatest change (after all, He did use a little Baby born in a small manger in obscurity to change the trajectory of eternity for those who would believe – but that’s for another time). 

The widow who came before Elisha left her house that morning not knowing that what she viewed as nothing and unimportant would be the greatest thing she had on her shelf for a breakthrough.

Elisha’s instructions were for her to borrow as many empty vessels as possible, take them home, shut the door, and watch God work.

The Bible tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  When she received the instructions on how to handle her seemingly insignificant source, what her eyes could not see, she moved forward in faith to fulfill.  Which by the way, was the truly greatest thing she had on her spiritual shelf to work with.

As a result, every vessel she borrowed brought her one step closer to her breakthrough.  Every time she poured her pot of oil, another filled, giving her more than enough in the end to satisfy all the debts against her and live comfortably off the rest.

Friends, I have written quite a few articles emphasizing the little things (I will link those below).  And it is because I want you to believe in what God has placed in you and around you.

It may not impress people, but when we move forward in faith and believe God can do the impossible, He can.

While it seems the loud, boastful, and most flamboyant gets all the attention, faith that is true, even in its smallest measure, gets God’s attention the most (Hebrews 11:6).

For your reading pleasure:

“Your Little Stuff Matters”

“When Little Means a Lot”

“A Little at a Time”

“Disregarded? Not By God!”

“You Have the Power to God”

“Qualified!”

Text Free Photo by Sarah Chai on Pexels.com

. . . Because of God

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Many of us are familiar with the story of Joseph.  We have the main points in his life down pat: his coat of many colors, his dreams, and his interpretation of others’ dreams.  We know of him being sold into slavery by his own brothers, his life in Egypt, the accusations of Potiphar’s wife, and his imprisonment.  But how closely do we pay attention to his actual relationship with God?  Do we focus more on the “From the Pit to the Palace,” side of things than on his integrity before God?

In his story, Joseph appears to start out as a young man who is a bit boastful and can’t wait to tell every listening ear his dream.  (I’m not saying he was boastful, just that it appears so).  His dreams became so that they incurred the hatred of his brothers.  This hatred would boil up within them until it filled them with violent intentions.  At one point, they thought murder was one option to rid them of this dreamer.  Instead of killing him, they opted to get rid of him while making a little money on the side.  They sold him into slavery.

In what appeared as the hardest time of his young life, Joseph’s relationship with God deepened.  This showed in the way God cause him to be prosperous and favored no matter where life put him (Genesis 39:3, 21).  Joseph also displayed the importance of his devotion to God in not sinning against God (Genesis 39:9) and in his refusal to take credit for all that God was doing through him (Genesis 40:8; 41:16, 28, 32).

God blessed Joseph with this incredible gift yet in his humility and dependence upon God, he denounced any accolades of his own.  He considered himself to be a vessel, realizing that “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace,” (Genesis 41:16).

The humility of Joseph took him far in life.  Eventually, he became second in command over Egypt.  Had he gotten big-headed I’m sure the story would’ve turned out quite differently.  If he had reverted to the “Me, Myself and I” attitude that a lot of people seem to display, Joseph’s story would not have been noted as the legacy we now know.

“It’s not in me,” Joseph readily proclaims.  The Bible tells us, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God,” (2 Corinthians 3:5).  The Apostle Paul out-and-out tells us what Joseph already proclaimed.  We don’t have it in us!  Any gifts, any abilities, any special insights, and any favor – we have it because of God!  There’s no room for a self-sufficient attitude when God is trying to work in you.

When Daniel went before king Nebuchadnezzar to interpret his dream, Daniel, like Joseph, admitted his frailty as a human.  He said, “This secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living,” (Daniel 2:30).  He did not consider himself anything special just because he could interpret dreams rather, he gave glory to God, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his,” (Daniel 2:20).

Standing before Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was asked, “Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?” (Daniel 2:26).  Daniel answered much like Joseph did.  He said, “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days,” (Daniel 2:28).

It is amazing the miracles that God can perform through the one who will not compete with Him to gain the credit.  When God instructed Gideon to go against the Midianites with only three hundred men, He did so, “lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me,” (Judges 7:2).  When there is competition for glory, God will retain His!  If one is in competition with Him they are “against” Him and God can’t work mightily through them!

It’s not just an Old Testament thing.  Peter said, “Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we made this man walk?” (Acts 3:12).  Let’s face it, we are human, and unless God puts it in us – unless God gives it to us, we don’t have anything to offer this world.  “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven,” (John 3:27).

Let’s do a credit check today.  Not to decipher our financial status but rather our relationship status with God.  It’s not “Me, Myself and I,” but it’s God working in us.  Let’s stand with Joseph and declare, “It’s not in me: God shall give . . . an answer . . .” (Genesis 41:16).  Everything that we have or are able to do in life is because of God.

Blessings to you . . .

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The High Horse

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“For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted,” Luke 18:14b

We’ve all heard someone express at one time or another, “You need to come down off that high horse!”  Whether it was said to us or another, the challenge is still implied for one to not think highly of him or herself, Romans 12:3.  People that are boastful and proud have a way of thinning out the crowds.  Their attitude is not attractive; therefore others will find an excuse to disassociate themselves from that person.

Us, who are saved by grace, also have to fight the urge to take on this superiority complex.  Too often we are just as prone to mount that high horse and ride off into the sunset, singing in a school girl tone, “We’re saved and you’re not . . . . . la la la la la la!”  Okay, so maybe we don’t sing in childish tones but that doesn’t mean we don’t act in childish ways; looking down our nose at a lost world as if we obtained this great salvation on our own.  Rather, we should be humbled by what God has so graciously done for us and wills in His heart to do for others also (2 Peter 3:9).

The Bible is full of references that explain God’s feelings toward this particular subject: He hates it!  1 Peter 5:5 states, “God resisteth the proud!”  Those that display this ugly characteristic are not amusing God, rather they are pushing Him away.  He does not tolerate it at all.

In light of all that He has done for humanity God’s view is this: NO ONE has the right to think he is something or somebody more special than all others.  Jesus hits the nail on the head in this story found in Luke 18:9-14.  Here He denounces the prideful Pharisees’ attitude of self-righteousness and He proclaims the greatness of the one who had a humble heart.  Did it seem that He was being too hard on the Pharisees; the ones who were the religious leaders of the day?

Not in the least.  Verse 9 tells us how their position changed their view of their relationship with God and with man.   First, He stated, they “trusted in themselves that they were righteous.”  Their rituals, rules, and regulations were how they measured and viewed their righteousness.  Their so-called ability to dot every “I” and cross every “T” ranked them above all others, securing their own righteousness.  No humbleness of heart was present.  No attributing their standing to the grace and mercy of God.  They “trusted in themselves.”

Secondly, their view caused them to “despise others.” Since nobody was as presumably holy as they were, they thought themselves to be on a higher level than everyone else.  They rode that high horse and they rode it a lot.

These two very wrong suppositions of themselves caused them to break the two greatest commandments that were ever written:

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

We all have to take careful heed to view our position in Christ in the proper way:

“To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.  For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:2-7

Not one of us has the right to ride the high horse!

“None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.” – Charles Spurgeon

“Once more, Never think that you can live to God by your own power or strength; but always look to and rely on him for assistance, yea, for all strength and grace.” – David Brainerd

 

The High Horse

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“For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted,” Luke 18:14b

We’ve all heard someone express at one time or another, “You need to come down off that high horse!”  Whether it was said to us or another, the challenge is still implied for one to not think highly of him or herself, Romans 12:3.  People that are boastful and proud have a way of thinning out the crowds.  Their attitude is not attractive; therefore others will find an excuse to disassociate themselves from that person.

Us, who are saved by grace, also have to fight the urge to take on this superiority complex.  Too often we are just as prone to mount that high horse and ride off into the sunset, singing in a school girl tone, “We’re saved and you’re not . . . . . la la la la la la!”  Okay, so maybe we don’t sing in childish tones but that doesn’t mean we don’t act in childish ways; looking down our nose at a lost world as if we obtained this great salvation on our own.

The Bible is full of references that explain God’s feelings toward this particular subject: He hates it!  1 Peter 5:5 states, “God resisteth the proud!”  Those that display this ugly characteristic are not amusing God, rather they are pushing Him away.  He does not tolerate it at all.

In light of all that He has done for humanity His view is this, no one has the right to think he is something special when he is not – “All that, and a bag of chips,” if you will.  (Don’t ask.  It’s a funny phrase I often hear and I really haven’t figured out why adding a bag of chips on the end makes the perception of superiority that much more so  🙂 ).

Jesus hits the nail on the head in this story found in Luke 18:9-14.  Here He denounces the prideful Pharisees’ attitude of self-righteousness and He proclaims the greatness of the one who had a humble heart.  Did it seem that He was being too hard on the Pharisees; the ones who were the religious leaders of the day?

Not in the least.  Verse 9 tells us how their position changed their view of their relationship with God and with man.   First, He stated, they “trusted in themselves that they were righteous.”  Their rituals, rules, and regulations were how they measured and viewed their righteousness.  Their so-called ability to dot every “I” and cross every “T” ranked them above all others, securing their own righteousness.  No humbleness of heart was present.  No attributing their standing to the grace and mercy of God.  They “trusted in themselves.”

Secondly, their view caused them to “despise others.” Since nobody was as presumably holy as they were, they thought themselves to be on a higher level than everyone else.  They rode that high horse and they rode it a lot.

These two very wrong suppositions of themselves caused them to break the two greatest commandments that were ever written:

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

We all have to take careful heed to view our position in Christ in the proper way:

“To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.  For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:2-7

Not one of us has the right to ride the high horse!