Praise Him Boldly
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of
him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
– 1 Peter 2:9
God seems to have a thing for the loser and the
underdog. That’s something our pastor pointed out to us on Sunday.
Unfortunately, we don’t always share God’s passion for the least among us.
We want it to be about us. That’s what the prosperity
gospel teaches. It’s all about us and how God will bless us. God does bless us.
He shows us mercy and grace we don’t deserve. And He does it because of the
blood of Christ. That’s very different than assuming God will always give us
everything we want if we will only just believe.
We also give ourselves way more credit than we
deserve. “I” chose to follow Jesus. It’s “my” ministry. “I” choose to do this. “I”
choose not to do that.
Newsflash: We aren’t in control. God is. Scripture
tells us that He chose us first. He leads us where He wants us to go. Do we
have freewill? Absolutely. But don’t you think the God who made you already
knows the path you’re going to “choose”?
We are chosen to serve God and to bring Him glory. It’s
not about us. Really. It’s not. I know you’ve heard that so many times but do
you believe it? Do you understand that when you belong to Christ, you give up
your independence?
We are a stubborn people. We want to be in charge. We
want to tell God what we will and won’t do. I wonder sometimes if He views us
as rebellious teenagers who refuse to follow the rules and be blessed. We’d
rather wander in the desert for years than to acknowledge that God knows what
He is doing.
When you are truly called by God, there is no choice.
Just ask Jonah. He didn’t want to go to Ninevah. Guess where he went? Ninevah –
with a little detour inside of a giant fish. We will go where God wills us to go.
What has God called you to do? It varies by person and
by season but one thing it isn’t is to exalt yourself. We are called to
self-sacrifice, to be the least, to serve and live lives that point others toward
Jesus.
Have you ever wondered why God has a soft-spot for
those who are considered losers and underdogs? Because we know how desperately
we need Him. Those who are focused on “I” don’t truly recognize their need for
God. Their pride keeps them from opening their hearts to His calling on their
lives.
In our society, we place so many gods above the one,
true God. We worship money, power, prestige. We look down on those who have
less money, less education, less stuff. We think more highly of ourselves based
on the exterior of our lives. God looks at the heart. What does He see?
Our lives are meant to be lived as praise for God
Almighty. What does your life look like?
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