God’s Hope for Your Heart from Matthew 23
GOD LOVES TO EXALT THE LOWLY
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
Religious competition is alive and well today. Bible knowledge, moral living, even service to those in need can easily be twisted into something we do simply to make ourselves look or feel better compared to someone else.
Have you ever seen that happen? Have you ever done it yourself?
That’s what was going on with the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, but the Good News is greater than that!
Trying to make yourself look awesome is exhausting. Trying to perform at the top all the time not only takes away your joy, but it risks taking away God’s glory, and He loves you too much to let either of those go on forever.
Don’t try to exalt yourself by your Christian performance. It will only wear you out. Instead, receive the acceptance of the Father though the work of the Son, and let Him lift you up instead.
Do your best to follow Jesus, but don’t fret about whether it looks good enough to the people around you. Admit your failures. Embrace your shortcomings. Accept that God alone is truly awesome, not you, and as you do, God will lift up your heart to the hope found in this truth: God loves to exalt the lowly.
-Pastor Phillip
AUDIO VERSION (Click here to subscribe to the daily podcast on iTunes.)
