Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Through You, Not To You—There’s nothing wrong with a desire to go higher and excel in every aspect of life. You were born with a desire to climb, to be promoted, to reach the next level. In fact, one of the promises of God is that if you carefully obey his commands you “will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” (Deuteronomy 28:13) The Apostle Paul, who wrote today’s focus scripture, writes that he pressed on toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
Just remember that God’s plan is not just to get promotion and blessing to you, but that he can bless the world around you through you.
So if you haven’t already, adjust your faith and prayers from what you are believing will come to you from God, and begin believing for what God can do through you. We have seen evidence time and time again that if God sees that he can get blessing through a person, he will get it to that person.
The Way Up Is Down—In God’s economy, the way to receive is to give, the way to lead is to serve, the way up is down, and the way to truly live is to die to self. So you can see why that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) It takes faith to give when you need, and to go down when your desire is to go up. Jesus is the ultimate example of this kingdom principle:
Philippians 2:6–9 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names…
No one has been exalted higher than Jesus, because no one ever brought themselves lower for the benefit of others.
Today’s focus: Practice today maintaining a mindset that focuses on others, and their stories, and their needs, instead of your own.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, instead of making sure you had everything that was coming to you, you gave your life to see that others would be blessed through you. Show me how I can live like this. Help me to believe for what you can do through me, not just what you can get to me. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.