Monday 30 Aug 2021

August 30: Proverbs 25:6-8
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 25:6
Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;
 
Devotion:
I love reading the proverbs, not as an end-to-end book, but one or two snippets and then thinking about what I have read. Some proverbs you read a single verse and think about it, others you read in tandem with other verses to think about the meaning. I have chosen these verses because they have meaning to me, a way of living I learned from my birth mother, and one I continue to see in my new mother.
 
Humbleness and humility are things we should learn at a very young age and take with us for the rest of our lives. When we turn our backs on those ways, we turn our backs on everything God tries to teach us. Jesus humbled Himself when He came to live amongst us. He took off the mantle of King of Kings and came to us as a servant for us all. It is not our calling to promote ourselves to be by God's side, but our calling to wait and see if God calls us to be by His side. All we need do is to present ourselves to be ready for Him to call.
 
We can read through our bibles and see words such as 'children of God' and promote ourselves to positions we are not yet worthy of. Yes, Christ died for us all so we can be called children of God, but if we adopt ourselves instead of God adopting us, we fool nobody but ourselves!
 
We need to depend more on how others see us and not how we promote ourselves. I despair when I see politicians running for office, telling all manner of stories to try and gain votes. If they would stop trying to impress us with words and start to do things to show us their intentions, we could elect the right leaders instead of electing false prophets. Trust your God and wait patiently for Him to call you out.
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you have an opinion of yourself?
 
Will you listen to what opinion God has of you instead of making your own story?