Experiencing The Promotion of God - Pt. 3
“It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.”
Psalm 75:7-8
We are currently in a series about Experiencing The Promotion of God. In my previous two letters we talked about how:
1) Promotion Comes From God, Not From Man
2) Promotion From God Is Unstoppable
If you missed those letters, I’d encourage you to go back and read them here.
This week we are talking about how: 3) Self-Promotion Prevents The Promotion of God.
Once, when I was studying the story of David’s anointing, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart saying, “Luke, do you think David didn’t know that Samuel was coming to his house?”
I thought about it… I guess I had assumed that David was oblivious to Samuel’s arrival. But at that time, Samuel was the most famous man in the entire nation. David would have at least heard through the grapevine that he was coming for a visit. And he also probably would have had an idea of the reason Samuel was coming.
But notice what David didn’t do. He didn’t think, “My dad doesn’t recognize my potential. So I’m going to sneak into the meeting!” No, David wasn’t trying to sneak into the meeting or find a way to show Samuel his kingship potential.
What was he doing? He was obeying his seemingly unjust father and faithfully doing what he’d been given to do… watching sheep. Probably worshipping God while he did.
The Holy Spirit continued, “Luke, I can take you from wherever you are and put you wherever I want you. Promotion isn’t your job, it’s mine. Your job is to faithfully do what’s been given to you.”
I see too many young leaders trying to sneak their way into meetings with influential leaders—hoping to impress them and expedite their promotion. But when we choose self-promotion, we remove the ability for God to promote us.
And, trust me, God’s promotion will always outdo and out-satisfy anything you could achieve through self-promotion.
Early in ministry, whenever I would feel tempted to self-promote, I would get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt the Holy Spirit restraining me. I purposefully didn’t have social media for many years because of this.
I knew God was saying to wait. To trust His timing and wait for his promotion.
I made a decision to never try to weasel my way into rooms God wasn’t putting me in. But to rather take the lowest seat at the table and allow God to call me up (Luke 14:10).
The result of that decision has been that over the past 3-4 years I have been in rooms I never could have dreamed of. I’ve met and built relationships with many of the most influential Christian leaders in the world. People I never thought I’d ever get to meet, let alone become friends with. And I’m certain that the level of favor I’m currently walking in is because I waited and trusted in the promotion of God.
Why? Because self-promotion prevents the promotion of God.
In my next letter, we will talk about the final thing we must remember on our road to promotion, which is this:
The Greater the Work, the Longer the Preparation.
In light of today’s letter, ask yourself the following questions:
In what ways have I been tempted to walk in self-promotion?
As the Holy Spirit reveals places of self-promotion in your heart, repent of those things. Asking the Holy Spirit to do a deep work in your heart and to uproot any stronghold of self-promotion and self-reliance.