Daily Devotional – Sept. 9, 2020

Holiday got you some rest and so you were able to charge into Tuesday and now Wednesday and so it already seems like wow the week's half over already. That's a great feeling isn't it. Well again I hope you're hope you're having a good day and a good week.

Prosperity, Success, and the Danger of Pride

A good week. Well I've heard this story too many times some variation of this theme. A young man or woman begins their career and they do so with a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm. They work hard which they should and we talked about that the other day on Labor Day and their efforts are generously rewarded which typically will be the case when one works hard and gives his all and then comes a promotion and maybe a raise what the world would call success.

But too often what happens is that each step up the ladder of success is accompanied with a corresponding stepping away from God's will. If married a spouse is neglected or the family ends up playing second fiddle to the office or career.

And oftentimes the the spouse in an effort to keep moving forward and keep climbing the ladder will spend less and less time at home more and more time at the office or with office personnel and so on and so forth just to just to network and all that kind of stuff.

Church services start to become optional. Devotions. What's that. And who really has has time for prayer. I mean there's a client to meet there's there's a sale to close. There's you know there's just too much too much to do.

I've got to maintain this success and keep driving for greater well. If this budding successful prodigy is truly a child of God's of God's grace it won't be long before some showers are gonna fall on this one's parade.

God Uses Sorrow to Keep Us Humble

I shared with you a quote from Thomas Manson yesterday in that same larger quote he said this. We warp in the sunshine a shower does this good. We warp in the sunshine a shower does this good. Now what in the world is he talking about.

Well Spurgeon explains. He said timber warps if it's exposed to noontide heat. And men are all too apt to be influenced one way or another by success poor fools that we are we cannot while on earth bear too much happiness.

The Lord will soon damp us with showers of sorrow then allow us to be spoiled. Now what Spurgeon is not is talking about there when he says we can't bear too much happiness. He's not talking about the blessedness that the scripture talks about but the the giddy happiness that comes that we feel when we are so successful and don't feel anymore like we need God.

We can't bear that kind of happiness too much of that. God's going to send some showers along the way. Now the psalmist understood this and experienced it himself. Listen to what he said in Psalm 30 verse 6.

He says as for me I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved. It's like our successful young prodigy right. I'm successful. I look at look at me. Look at what I've accomplished. Look at where I am in my career already and everything I'm doing great.

I'm there. I'm not good. I'm not gonna be moved. I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved. And what he's expressing in that statement is that in his prosperity in his success he got a bit cocky self-confident almost feeling invincible.

I shall never be moved. The timber was warping pretty badly. But then he says this. He says by your favor O Lord you made my mountain stand strong. You hid your face. I was dismayed. Now the first part of that verse it's verse 7 follows.

Right on the heels of what he said in my prosperity I'll not be moved. He said by your favor O Lord you made my mountain stand strong. In other words he's saying before I said this you're the one that made my mountain stand strong.

I wasn't the one who was so strong. I wasn't the one who gained my prosperity. Because then he said I experienced this you hid your face and I was dismayed. So in his prosperity he said I'll never be moved.

And the timber was warping pretty badly until the Lord hid his face sent some showers along the way. The sales dried up customers quit calling orders slowed down to a trickle conflict started to erupt between co-workers and between the subordinate and his superior.

And the Lord hid his face. That means he wasn't showering the blessings. He wasn't making his mountain stand so strong anymore. So the psalmist came to realize that his mountain had stood strong because of the Lord's favor not because of his own skill or cleverness or winsomeness or his own innate ability.

So where did the rain come from. Where did the rain come from. What did he do when that rain came. The Lord sent the rain. He hid his face and led him to dismay to a sense of despair like what do I do now.

So what did he do when the rain came. Well verse 8 tells us Psalm 30. Verse 8 he says to you oh Lord I cry and to the Lord I plead for mercy here oh Lord and be merciful to me. Oh Lord be my helper. He prayed he learned a very valuable lesson that my success and my prosperity is not due to me.

It's due to the Lord who made my mountain strong. So the Lord sent showers to humble me. I now pray Lord be my helper. And that prayer will oftentimes turn to praise as it did for the psalmist. He said you have turned for me my mourning into dancing.

You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness that my that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. Oh Lord my God I will give thanks to you forever. So he summarized the whole experience this way right before he talked about right before he talked about saying in my prosperity.

I said I'll not be moved. He said this his anger is but for a moment. And his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night. But joy comes in the morning. In other words when you look at that summary you realize that the shower did him good the shower did him good.

So I don't know where you are in your level of prosperity your feeling of success and so forth. But whatever you are always remember you are where you are because of the gracious favor of the Lord. Don't allow the timber to warp in the sunshine.

Let the the dew of the Lord's word his truth his favor. Let it ever remind you of where you are is is due to him and not yourself. Don't get proud and cocky be grateful be grateful. So our Heavenly Father we do.

Thank you for the showers you send our way. Sometimes we need them to keep us humble keep us straight keep us understanding our real place and more importantly understanding your place and who you are.

Who you are to us and who you are for us. And so our God. I pray help us to be humble and trusting. And use us use us mightily use us and grant us great success and prosperity in the work that you've called us to do.

But may we ever be mindful that it is you who grants such blessings. All this we pray in Jesus name. Amen all right. Well go forth and do the work that God's called you to do do it with all your might and as he grants you success as he shows his favor.

Praise him. Thank him. Rejoice in him. Have a good day. God bless.