Destined for More: The Downside
If there is a potential downside to stepping into your God-led destiny. That down side is that once God has done amazing things through you and for you, you might start thinking that YOU are responsible for your success – that you deserve some of the glory. And that is the sad ending of more than one story of someone whom God raised up from ignominy to greatness.
Not everyone, though.
King Saul is one example. Taken from a future as a donkey finder for his father, God raised him up to be the first king of Israel. And Samuel, who anointed Saul in the first place, and advised him in the early years of his reign had to deliver the indictment of Saul for God.
1 Samuel 15:17-19(first half) [NKJV] 17 So Samuel said, "When you [were] little in your own eyes, [were] you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' 19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?”
Saul, who was not elected, but rather chosen by God, began to act like his purpose was to please the people, and then he blamed them for the debacle.
Miriam, who was just a slave in Egypt, gained notoriety as the sister of Moses. She lead the women in song and dance after the people successfully came through the Red Sea and watched the army of Egypt destroyed. Her brother, Aaron, likewise, rose to power because God had chosen Moses, and given Aaron the task of speaking for him before the Pharoah.
Both of them began to speak against Moses.
Numbers 12:1-2 [NKJV] 1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard [it].
Contrast that with someone like Mary, Jesus’s mother. She started as an unknown virgin, engaged to be married, and God gave her the honor of carrying our Savior in her womb. She was humble then (see Luke 1:26-39). And she never strayed from Jesus’ side through His sacrifice, where she stayed at His feet, enduring a mother’s worst nightmare with her son and Savior.
Micah 6:8 [NKJV] 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?
If we studied all of those who were plucked out of ignominy into service of the Lord, we would find that the key characteristic of those who did not fall and Saul did was enduring humility.
Witness further the 11 disciples who society would have destined to be struggling fishermen all their lives – like their fathers before them. They struggled with fear and faith in the dark times, but, with little exception, they understood that the miracles they performed, and the calling they were chosen to fulfill, were all because of Jesus and not their own doing. They understood that this was not something they earned or deserved or gained by their own power.
Therefore, God was able to continue using them.
Humility, it seems, it the antidote to letting all the blessings and provisions of God, including God-bestowed power and authority, go to your head. Simple. Right? Seems that, when it comes to human nature, maybe humility is not so simple to stick to. Thankfully, humility is available and is a lot easier to stick to if we focus on sticking close to Jesus.
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the chat or any time at Nancy@dynamicchristianministries.org