Philippians 2:3 “With humility of mind let each of you regard one another as better than himself.”
Oof, this verse gets me; I think of how often I am thinking of my own needs, rather than, the needs of others.
How many times do we put the needs of another before our own needs without any agenda?
Something I have learned is I love promoting myself; I am a selfish person.
We are very aware of our enemy, the devil.
1 Peter 5:8 says ,“he comes, as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.”
However, honestly I believe our true enemy most of the time is _ ourselves.
I encourage you to ask yourself these questions, today.
Why do you do the things you do ?
Is it truly for the Lord and His Glory or for self promotion ?
Is it in Hopes that we will see God’s hand in our life, or are we truly longing to know our Father’s heart?
These are questions I still ask myself everyday; I long to die everyday to myself (it is absolutely a daily thing.)
I believe we all have a bit of Martha in us. (Luke 10:38-42) Striving so hard and working so hard that we forget why we are doing what we are doing, or either we are missing the Presence of the Lord in our midst altogether.
Max Lucado says it so well, “If your happiness depends on the applause and approval of others, you will yo-yo up and down. Our generation’s fascination with social media has taken addiction to adulation to a whole new level. We measure success in ‘likes’, ‘thumb ups’, ‘retweets’, and ‘friends’. Self images rise and fall upon the whim of clicks and facebook entries. Social media is social comparison on steroids.”
I remind myself daily that I am not God’s gift to humanity. Also, I have nothing to prove here, yet everything to give! Our God does not need me to do His work; But, wow, this gets me too… He chooses me because His Love for me is that unfathomable.
Isaiah 10:15 states, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.”
We are the axe, the woods, and the staff here, friends. We are absolutely nothing apart from the Father.
How kind of Him to use us.
Lucado tells a story in the same book I referenced above..
In his story three angels approach this saint of a man and asked him what he would wish for If he could have one wish.
The man’s reply was, “I want to do good, and to not know that I did it.”
Man, what if this was our everyday heart posture_
TO DO GOOD WITHOUT ANY NEED OF APPLAUSE OR RECOGNITION.
Lord, I pray for this to be the posture of my heart everyday.
Thank you for reminding us in Luke 10, that you take joy with us just sitting in Your Presence.. that all You desire is our hearts.
Thank you for showing us in Isaiah 10 that we are nothing apart form You, Father.
Each and every day humble us that we die to ourselves and bring Your Kingdom by putting others’s needs above our own.
Your Beloved, Kel
Love the comparison you make to Martha & Mary. I can relate to that constant tension of doing things for the right reasons. It’s overwhelming. Just the fact you acknowledge it is huge. Thanks for your vulnerability!
Travis, I’m right there with you. I have been on a long journey to work this out. I’ve made huge strides, but there are still some things to work on. Thanks for your vulnerability as well.
Kelsey, thanks for, yet again, reading my mail. What a blessing to be gently touched by the Holy Spirit and to see that there is still work to be done. God bless you my sister in Christ.