You Are Promoted - Lisa U Maki
God is our Creator and He continues to create something new every day. This is the reason why His creation continues to develop and evolve as well. And this is why all of us continue to yearn for growth and for something better. Man was designed to be promoted!
This design or make-up of man makes him strive for greater things. It is his driving force behind hard work and industriousness. He knows that the harder you work, the greater the chances are for success. We've seen and witnessed for ourselves how our parents and grandparents worked so hard to get to where they are or were. My own dad is a self-made man who worked very hard to get to where he is now.
Although hard work is a virtue and a godly attribute, it can also be bad. People can get bound to hard work and forget to smell the roses and enjoy life. They can be obsessed with hard work to the point of neglecting their families.
Then there is the opposite extreme which is getting more common these days. There is a growing population of lazy and impatient people who want promotion the easy way. They crave for quick and instant money and fame, which is why people are lured to drugs, prostitution, and other illegal activities that make easy money. And then we have all these reality T.V. shows that encourage and promote this mindset of quick fame.
Too much hard work or not much hard work - both sides are not God's standards of promotion. What a liberating assurance! God is a God of order and balance and His ways are always perfect.
So how does God promote and what are His standards?
Psalm 75:6-7 says: "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another."
God is in charge of promoting us. He may use other people to do this but He is still in control. So no matter what you do or don't do, God will still have the last say. You may be working so hard and aiming for promotion and still haven't gotten it. You may even be feeling envious of your co-worker who was just recently promoted. Well, it is God who decides. You may not understand why but He knows what is best for you.
Prior to my marriage I was offered a job that I was kind of overqualified for. I really wanted it and I knew the VP for HR who said that she will get that job for me. I turned in my Resume and waited. Weeks and months passed and I couldn't even get in touch with her. Not long after, my "man" (my husband now) finally had the opportunity to fly to the Philippines to claim for me. After our marriage, I set a meeting with my friend (the VP for HR) to introduce my husband to her. She then said to me... "Now I know why I wasn't at peace about that job for you. I didn't call you because I didn't know what to say. Had I hired you, you would also have left because of your marriage".
Another thing we have to remember is that although God values hard work, He doesn't want us to rely on ourselves more than Him. The problem with being so hard-working is that it can lead to self-sufficiency. This was the case with me, and if I am not careful I can easily go down that path again. People who have worked hard for what they have will always say... "I've worked hard for what I have. I didn't rely on anyone".
The Bible says that "we are saved by grace, through faith, and not from ourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast". The mindset and attitude of self-sufficiency is the reason why it becomes difficult for a lot of people to understand the concept of God's grace. It is not easy for a very hardworking, self sufficient person to grasp that her good works will not lead her to heaven. It is for this reason why it is only when a person reaches a severe point of brokenness that she starts realizing that she can't rely on herself. This was the case with me.
I continue to see among God's people, and this includes myself, how easy it is for us to give the credit to ourselves instead of God, when we know that we've worked hard for something. Really, it is easier to see God's miracle when out of nothing you have something, instead of having something because you've worked hard for it. This is why before God promotes us to the next level, He humbles us first. And even after He promotes us, He can demote us when He sees that we are again taking the credit to ourselves or relying on ourselves too much.
While God does not want us to rely on ourselves more than Him, He surely does not want us to just wait for things to happen. God hates laziness and will surely not reward this kind of attitude and lifestyle. Proverbs 21:5 says: Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Whoever gets promoted the easy way will lose it as fast as she got it. If Jesus Himself had to die on the cross before He sat down at the right hand of God, what makes us think that we can just take shortcuts?
God is a God of process. He will promote us slowly, as He seems fit for us. The same words He said to the Israelites after they got out of Egypt are the same words He is telling us now...
I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and are numerous enough to take possession of the land (Exodus 23:29-30).
If I were to paraphrase this based on my topic on "being promoted", this is how it will sound...
I will not drive out the hindrances to your promotion lest your pride multiplies against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have become humble enough to realize that you are just a steward.
This is the very essence of God's promotion... less of us and more of Him.
Lisa Maki is the founder of God'z Gurlz, a Bible-based online magazine for women whose mission is to is to provide a place where women can learn to manage their emotions, experience healing, receive love and acceptance, be free to be who God made them to be, and be the best they can be in their homes, schools, professions, relationships, and calling, through sharing of insights and experiences, counseling, prayer, and devotionals, thereby learning from and supporting each other. For more of Lisa's articles, visit http://godzgurlz.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_U_Maki Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6942987