Pride is one of God's biggest competitors. When you have a good job and a steady paycheck, you can help others and yourself, people admire you, people don't have to know the embarrassing weaknesses and shortcomings of your life, you feel your future is secure, you can feel you are providing all the "good things" for your kids, you're good at keeping your family safe and comfortable, etc, etc., they can become our security, our protection, and what we worship in place of God. These desires are not evil in and of themselves, but we and these valuables must take their rightful place at the feet of Jesus. He must be King.
How can we be sure what we worship is Jesus and nothing else? Tithing is one way of knowing. If we find ourselves giving begrudgingly and hesitantly, these things may have us. God loves a cheerful giver because He knows their heart has been captured by Jesus and He rules over everything else in their life.
Another way of discovering who sits on the throne is by losing or being faced with the choice of giving up in order to answer a higher call. The competitors don't give up easily, that is pride, security, comfort, status, public opinion, and possessions. As soon as they are threatened, a fierce battle arises, to keep you wanting them over God's sovereignty. It takes a conscious and intentional reordering of things. You withstand criticism and naysaying, you cut things loose, you let your desires go, you experience loss and loneliness, you stop having the answers, you cease being the center of attention, you learn about failure.
There was a vision seen by a Godly man just after we received the abrupt blow that we were leaving St. Christopher, where Peter worked and our family lived and served for some time. It was of a door swinging wide open at the end of a hallway. It was interpreted that the door was the will of Father God and His invitation to us to be used in His plan to reach the people of Uganda with more of is love. There were many doors down the hall that were closed. These were doors of our life which had been closed along the way, careers, opportunities, wealth, and even our identity and paradigms. But we've come to know that God requires many more doors to be closed in this preparation.
We have sold or given away so many possessions, and God says, "More!" We have destroyed what was our identity, He asks for more. We have gone from an independent spirit to dependency for every single need. We have been made to rely on the generosity of others, on God's approval and not man's, on the kindness and prayers of God's people, on the safety and protection of Father God and the comfort and revelation of the Holy Spirit. And God will not be satisfied until we belong totally to Him.
We praise God today because He is wise so far beyond human wisdom. He knows what is best for His people and His love is so great, it consumes, like fire, every part of us that will not produce His glory on the earth. We praise Him because after all the battering storms, raging fires, the wars against us, and the casualties of my life, He reigns more than ever in our hearst. More than ever, He has caused us to want Him to be worshipped and praised throughout the earth. We have lost our life in many ways, all the dreams and expectations, looking good to the world, the predictability of the future, being able to not let others down, and our self-reliance. I praise you God because new life is springing up inside us...character and perseverance, the ability to love across borders, humility, a quiet spirit, a well-spring of truth and inexplicable joy in knowing you God, experiencing Jesus become King overall, and peace that passes all understanding.
God has a better dream for us. The cost is high, but it's a dream so worthy of embracing.
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