by Jacqueline Heider
…I will not yield my glory to another. Isaiah 47:11
This past weekend, I spoke at a conference. The entire All For His Glory Ministries speaking team traveled to Asheville, North Carolina to minister to the women at Biltmore Baptist Church. I must say that WE were the ones ministered to! God was incredible. HE showed up and worked powerfully in the lives of hundreds of women as they chose to “give up” their hurts, their dreams, their sorrows, their sins, their entanglements, their EVERYTHING and commit to “live it up” all for HIS glory! They laid the things they were giving up to God on the altar to be burned up as a fragrant offering to the Lord (Leviticus 1:9).
God has been dealing with me about a certain sin, and honestly, I thought I had “given it up.” But after the conference on Saturday, there it was again—rearing its ugly head. You see, I was the final general-session speaker for the weekend, and after I finished speaking, Satan began whispering his lies in my ears. He began telling me what a failure I was, that I bombed, that what I said made no sense and that I couldn’t even compare to the other speakers. He also had me convinced that I had misheard my call and should never speak again. I felt the weight of that burden for over 24 hours and absolutely didn’t have the strength to say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!”
Satan knows that my weakness is the sin of pride. I like an “atta girl” and a “you did great.” And though there is nothing wrong with needing a little encouragement, I shouldn’t allow my need for that affirmation to give Satan such a stronghold. And, boy, did he have one! You see, when Satan started whispering those lies in my ears, I should have found the strength to say, “Who cares?! It’s not about me and whether or not I bombed. If I need to look stupid for God to get the glory, I’m okay with that.” Instead, I began coveting God’s glory and wanting recognition. I didn’t mean to, but my need for approval and encouragement became so great that I fell into the sin of pride.
After the conference Saturday night, we prayed over the cards that were to be burned and then put them in the fire as an offering to the Lord. As we prayed, I confessed that had I laid a card on the altar mine would have said “My pride.” After every card was in the fire, we took a picture of the offering. At the top of the mound of cards that were engulfed in flames was a card that said “My pride.” I felt as though I had been stabbed right in the gut! Oh, the ugliness of my sin. Rather than basking in God’s win for the day and in Him getting the glory, I found myself in an emotional stupor because of my own insecurities and self-indulgence. Rather than praising God for what He had accomplished, I was worried about whether or not I looked bad.
The Lord asked me one question, “Who did you want to look good today, you or Me?” “You,” I said. “Then why are you upset?” said the Lord. I began to ask myself, why had I ministered for the Lord? Was it to satisfy my own need for affirmation and approval, or was it because Jesus has so filled my heart that my service to Him was an overflow of His love? As I searched my soul, prayed and laid my heart out before the Lord, the answer came … All for His Glory.
In everything that we do for the Lord, we must remember these three verses:
1) We must set ourselves aside and focus on our Savior Who is on the throne! (Hebrews 12:2)
2) Remember John 3:30 – “He must become greater; I must become less.”
3) Determine that “His name and renown is the desire of your heart.” Isaiah 26:8
God has been dealing with me about a certain sin, and honestly, I thought I had “given it up.” But after the conference on Saturday, there it was again—rearing its ugly head. You see, I was the final general-session speaker for the weekend, and after I finished speaking, Satan began whispering his lies in my ears. He began telling me what a failure I was, that I bombed, that what I said made no sense and that I couldn’t even compare to the other speakers. He also had me convinced that I had misheard my call and should never speak again. I felt the weight of that burden for over 24 hours and absolutely didn’t have the strength to say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!”
Satan knows that my weakness is the sin of pride. I like an “atta girl” and a “you did great.” And though there is nothing wrong with needing a little encouragement, I shouldn’t allow my need for that affirmation to give Satan such a stronghold. And, boy, did he have one! You see, when Satan started whispering those lies in my ears, I should have found the strength to say, “Who cares?! It’s not about me and whether or not I bombed. If I need to look stupid for God to get the glory, I’m okay with that.” Instead, I began coveting God’s glory and wanting recognition. I didn’t mean to, but my need for approval and encouragement became so great that I fell into the sin of pride.
After the conference Saturday night, we prayed over the cards that were to be burned and then put them in the fire as an offering to the Lord. As we prayed, I confessed that had I laid a card on the altar mine would have said “My pride.” After every card was in the fire, we took a picture of the offering. At the top of the mound of cards that were engulfed in flames was a card that said “My pride.” I felt as though I had been stabbed right in the gut! Oh, the ugliness of my sin. Rather than basking in God’s win for the day and in Him getting the glory, I found myself in an emotional stupor because of my own insecurities and self-indulgence. Rather than praising God for what He had accomplished, I was worried about whether or not I looked bad.
The Lord asked me one question, “Who did you want to look good today, you or Me?” “You,” I said. “Then why are you upset?” said the Lord. I began to ask myself, why had I ministered for the Lord? Was it to satisfy my own need for affirmation and approval, or was it because Jesus has so filled my heart that my service to Him was an overflow of His love? As I searched my soul, prayed and laid my heart out before the Lord, the answer came … All for His Glory.
In everything that we do for the Lord, we must remember these three verses:
1) We must set ourselves aside and focus on our Savior Who is on the throne! (Hebrews 12:2)
2) Remember John 3:30 – “He must become greater; I must become less.”
3) Determine that “His name and renown is the desire of your heart.” Isaiah 26:8
No comments:
Post a Comment