When God invests in our lives, He intends to get the glory. He taught Israel about this. He pointed out to them that they were taking the credit for the wealth they had. But God said, "No, I'm the One giving you the power to get the wealth" (Deut. 8:18).
God wants us to give Him the glory when we are blessed, promoted, and delivered. By doing so, we avoid being arrogant, conceited, and puffed up.
The Bible says a proud look is one of the things He hates more than anything (Prov. 6:16-17). God has a problem with people who are always boasting about their accomplishments.
Every time you fellowship with them, they want to talk about what they have done and what they bought. They tell you, "Oh, you ain't seen nothing until you've seen mine!"
The Glory Is His, Not Ours
Wait a minute! God wants to make sure that when people hear about your blessings, He gets the glory.
People come to church with strife, arrogance, pride, and haughty looks. They're puffed up because they get blessed more than others or they grow more spiritually than others. That proud look says, "I did it all myself. I am my own god. I did it my way."
Anywhere you see the spirit of "I," you see the spirit of Satan. He's the one who said, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God....I will be like the most High" (Isa. 14:13-14). And he still wants to do this today—through you!
Instead of bragging on ourselves, we should be bragging on our God. When we do this, we'll become witnesses to God's power and supernatural abundance. Instead of grumbling and complaining, we'll be able to say, "Did you see what the Lord did? Look at how He honored His Word."
We didn't do it by ourselves. The reason we're blessed is that God loves us so much. Give Him glory for the car! The house! The job! In fact, this is how we should talk:
If it had not been for the Lord on my side, I don't know how we would have had the idea. And once we had the idea, if it had not been for the Lord, I don't know how the money would have come. And even when the money got here, we needed wisdom to put the plan together. And the Lord showed up in the midnight hour and gave us the solution in a dream. It was God who prospered us!Anytime you think you did something yourself, remember what God said to Job. He said, in essence:
Job, tell Me how I hung the stars in the sky. Explain to Me why the water comes up on the beach and returns exactly when it should. If you know so much, explain to Me how the earth rotates on its axis. Explain to Me the concept of night and day. If you know so much, tell Me how the seasons know when to come and go.It's Not About Us; It's About Him
(Job 38)
We don't do anything without the help of the Master. It's all God! We need to give Him the glory every day for giving us breath in our lungs.
We must give Him the glory for every healing we experience and for every dime in our bank accounts. God is a good God, and His handiwork is worthy to be displayed. Hallelujah!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers