Humbled Less Pride Destroyed Me

Isaiah 14:12-15, "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit."

This passage in Isaiah describes the fall of Satan, and his reason for being thrown from heaven. In pride he said with his heart that he would ascend. He would exalt himself up. Satan basically declared that he would climb the corporate ladder of heaven and become boss.

I bring this up because yesterday in the wake if seeing God move on my behalf I went to work euphoric. To add to the exhilaration, I had multiple mortgage candidates, and the day could have also included three mortgage applications. I even boldly declared to my boss that I was going to exceed my monthly goal by double.

Off into my day I ran. Calling Application #1 I found out that his "financial consultant" had advised him to simply pay his house off. Application #2 was a bust when the tax returns arrived -- insufficient income. Application #3 used the weekend to think about it over, and the marginal reward of refinancing was not enough to overcome the time, energy, and expense associated with it. Three deals, probably three weeks of calls... gone.

What an awesome God to allow me to humbled by His hand. Seriously! I mean that with all my heart. I am very good at what I do, and it is very easy for me to get distracted and think it is something other than the blessing of God, and His design at work in me. I am thankful for the humbling day so that I can get my perspective back in order.

The other side of the equation is that 2 of the 3 potential applicants I know to be Christians. The third was just a stranger. And so, if I trust God to be in control  of my life, I have to trust that He is also working together for good in the lives of those other Christians. So I am further grateful that God did not use me for their financial benefit, trusting that he has something better, or someone more capable of delivering God's very best to them. Thank the Lord that if my efforts are not the best expression of His love, then by all means don't allow me to be used.

Selah