Knowing Where the Praise Truly Lies

As you come into the presence of God today to read His Word and meditate on the words He may be speaking to you, pray for a receptive heart, that you may be humble enough to accept and allow God’s words to change your life today. Spend some time praying.

Read Genesis 14

God definitely works in cool ways. If you think about it, five kings weren’t able to defeat those four kings. Yet, God used Abram and his 318 trained men (as opposed to the thousands at the kings’ disposal) to show everyone that numbers do not matter when it comes to God bringing about His plan on this earth. Let me draw your attention to what happened after Abram’s victory though; both the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, the king of Salem approach Abram, though with vastly different purposes. The king of Sodom approaches Abram and tells Abram: just give me back all my relatives and subjects whom you’ve saved, and I will give you all the rest of the non-human goodies that you captured from those four kings. Abram will have nothing to do with it though, recognizing that the king of Sodom simply wants to be able to say, “I have made Abram rich.” So Abram rejects his offer. In contrast, when the king of Salem, Melchizedek, approaches Abram, he does something completely different. Unlike the king of Sodom, he does not praise Abram for defeating the four kings and saving all the captives. Instead, Melchizedek praises God and thanks Him for using Abram to “deliver your enemies into your hand.”
I feel like I’ve also had an experience rather similar to that of Abram’s recently: I was recently elected Homecoming King of Wheaton North High School. Just like Abram, I had accomplished something quite…impressive (trying to say this with maximum humility). Like Abram, I had overcome the odds (only being here two years prior to my election). And like Abram, I was congratulated by various groups from school and church. Yet, I think that I’ve been continually reminded by friends and family that the real glory and praise belongs to God. In fact, one of my friends from school (another member of the homecoming court) texted me Friday afternoon (after I found out I was the Homecoming King) with the verse Galatians 1:10: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” In a sense, he acted as the Melchizedek to my Abram; he reminded me that ultimately, the approval we should be seeking should be from God, not from man. That we should desire to gain God’s accolades, not human ones. Not that human accolades are bad; by no means! In fact, it’s important that we are periodically encouraged and built up by those around us. It’s just that, when we look at the big picture, it’s ultimately God’s accolades that truly matter. So even in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of homecoming week, God continually reminds me that He is the one behind all the good in my life and that even when humans recognize me for my achievements, I am simply another person in continual need of more of Him.
Have you been relying too much on human praises to keep you going? Have you been taking the glory when it truly belongs to God? How is God convicting you to seek His praise over human praise? How is God calling you to use the spotlight you’ve been placed in to redirect that spotlight to where it belongs—with God? Pray about it. Be honest with God (and yourself) because you can’t fool Him. Ask Him to change your heart and mindset tangibly today. Because, in the long run, He is the one who deserves all the glory and honor and praise. Amen.