“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” —Luke 10:20
Every now and again, we all have an opportunity to experience
something supernatural. The movement of
the Spirit of God. Some mighty act of
God precipitated through us or through someone else. We are amazed and perhaps derive a sense of
great joy – like the disciples. But we
must be careful – like the disciples. It
is very easy to lose focus on the God who is the source of all spiritual power
and focus on the event that is the result of that spiritual power. And perhaps, even attribute credit to
yourself or to someone else and not to the Source.
A question that is very often asked of volunteer mission teams at
the end of their trips is “What did you get out of your time here?” A simple question, well intentioned, but it
focuses on the wrong point of their service. I have known a good many people
whose lives have been forever transformed through serving others. But, maybe a
better question might be, “What did God reveal to you during your time here?”
I have people give me credit for my service all the time. It is easy to begin to think that somehow I
am the reason some good happened. But,
in fact, the source of the “good” was God, not my abilities. In fact, God is the source of my abilities that
I used to serve others as well. Jesus
told the disciples not to rejoice in what they were doing, but in why they were
able to do it.
Listen. It is OK to feel
good about yourself. But we must be
careful that we don’t take credit for something that someone else, namely God,
did through us. Certainly the world does
not understand that. And that lack of understanding presents you with an
opportunity to avoid robbing God of His glory and giving all of the credit to God.
In response to praise for my service I most often say, “The only credit I can
take is saying ‘yes’ to God.”
And about that feeling. I
was talking to someone the other day. He
was telling me about how he had helped someone in need. He said “It made me feel good inside.” I told
him the feeling he had was not “Good” but “Right”. When we are obedient to God’s leading and
will, we have a sense of “Right”. That
can be easily mistaken for good and that can be easily mis-attributed to our
own action and credit. Like the doing of
a good thing somehow vindicates us – making us good. Right– is what it feels like to be walking in
obedience to the will of the Father. Out
of obedience springs the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace …. The result
of that, in our flesh, is most often the human emotion of feeling good.
It’s OK to have that feeling.
What is not Ok is taking credit for it.
Make certain that in all you do for God that you give credit where
credit is due. And you can feel good
about that!
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it –
Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His
Glory Alone
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