Sunday 3 February 2013

Toward the Mark

Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge... (Psalm 144:1,2)
I love my job. I like to work, and I have been putting in a lot of extra hours because I want to create something, not just show up. I think some people misunderstand my motives, and I am finding myself in the middle of a battle over prime real estate in the pecking order. It's a battle I am losing, of course, because that's not what I am here for, but sometimes it's hard to remember what I am here for...and then, my pride kicks at being stepped on and manipulated, and how I hate to be both left behind and misunderstood!

Thank God I never have to scrabble for position...but my Father doesn't rescue me from humiliation, or from the "low place". He took it, and He expects me to take it too.

Father, teach me to fight - not others, but that part of me that wants to win, that wants honor for self instead of for You. Win over me, and make me content with the place You give me, high or low. Let me work to please You alone. Be always, always in my view, and let me not lose sight of my real purpose. Remind me who I am in You, and the high place You offer me in Christ, so that I never, ever feel the need to find justification or praise from this world. Help me to see that it is a far higher place to be Your slave than the CEO of any company human society can come up with.

Let me seek Your "Well done!" without fainting. Teach me to bend low. Teach me to make my life a sacrifice so that Your name might be lifted high. Let me live in Love, giving all that I am for Your sake wholeheartedly and without grudging.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

1 comment:

joeyanne said...

Amen! Thank you for this. Especially now when I, too, am feeling the sting of being misunderstood. I hate the part of me that always needs to come out smelling like roses. And I am no rose - But Jesus was perfect, and He took the low place and was misunderstood to the extreme. I would do well to follow Him! Thanks Lovely.