1 Timothy 1:17 – All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Luke 14:11 – For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Ephesians 3:20-21 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Galatians 1:10 – Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
John 15:16 – You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
I consider myself of no consequence and of no influence. Though Satan would buffet me and earthly pride would be his ally, what people think of me carries no weight against the eyes of the Lord that are always upon us all (Proverbs 15:3). Better said, I refuse to assess any value to my life. If I’m used of God, the only judgement that matters is what God Himself decides. Why should I dwell on any value I may have? It is better to live to please God. Besides, if God works through me we know that I am only a tool used by the Master. When an artist paints beauty, are the paint and the instruments praised? No, we know that the paint and the tools are nothing if the artist had not used them. What is for me to consider is what is it that the Lord would have me do, and where He would have me do it. Someone may ask “Why leave where you are at when the Lord is blessing? Because the servant goes where the Master directs. If God uses us at one place for a time, and then another, the second is no less important than the first. The work belongs to God. Our part is to obey God and to do the His work in expressing our love and gratitude to Him. What the Lord has us do is what He gave us life to do. We are only a brush of the Great Artist and will be used on earth until what we are called to do is done. Then we will be gone. In this is beauty and inspiration. When the Lord is done with us we will not be discarded as refuse, but we then will receive our great hope, to be with Lord Jesus forever. Therefore we recognize that, as the brush without the artist, we have no value and can do nothing of beauty. But in the hands of God, Him flowing through us and using us as He desires, then marvelous beauty can be produced. Not produced by us, but by God. No credit goes to us, it all belongs to God.
When we say that we are of no consequence and no influence, it is only an acknowledgement of the fact that all blessings come from God (James 1:16-17). All credit and glory, all the time, belongs to God. Considering all this, we want no credit. We need no acknowledgment from man about our calling from God but rather we need only the firm assurance that the work we do is only done as we are called by Him to do. To do His bidding is our greatest honor and blessing. It is best for us to follow Micah’s advice in Micah 6:8. Having done that, the joy of the Lord will fill and overflow out of us continuously as in Psalm 150:6. My life is to be lived as Micah 7:7 shouts out “But as for me, I watch and hope in the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me!” Family and friends, let us love and serve the Lord with the honest best effort we can. Let us do it because we love and appreciate God. Let us do it because we trust Him. We trust Him because we know Him. Let us seek God’s approval. In humility before God, in all things and in all ways, let us praise the Lord and enjoy His favor and His peace. Praise God! Yes, praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.