The Applause Isn’t For You!

 

Don't take the credit

They’re not applauding for you!

All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present,

and beyond all time! Amen.” Jude 25 New Living Translation

 As he carried Jesus through the cheering crowd amid shouts of praise and adulation, the donkey probably thought the cheering was for him!

Alas, we are apt to fall under the same illusion. For although we are highly favored and given grace far above our ability to earn or deserve it, we’re not the big deal. God is!

If you are hearing praise and exaltation … it’s for Him, not you.

We’re the news story, not the writer of it. Somebody else has written the story and set the publishing into motion. We are the epistle read of all men. (II Corinthians 3:2) The applause isn’t for you.

We’re the pipe, not the pump. What flows through us didn’t originate with us. There is power behind our lives that we didn’t birth. The applause isn’t for you.

We’re the reflection, not the light source. We shine because of the light of another. “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18 New Living Translation   The applause isn’t for you.

We’re hopeful, not the hope. We have no hope, not even the hope of hope without God. “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.” Romans 15:13 New Living Translation   The applause isn’t for you.

This week don’t forget … God doesn’t live through our strength and abilities. We live through his. And although he allows us to tell his story, and carry his Spirit, and reflect his love and intentions, it’s still his story, his Holy Spirit, and his love that are on display.

So the applause must belong to him.

The day is coming, however, when God will smile on those who told the story correctly and well … who allowed his Spirit to flow through their lives uninterrupted … who reflected his image brightly and remained full of hope. And in that day, God will give us all the applause we can handle!

“So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God.” I Corinthians 4:5 The Message

 

Here is the latest video from Fresh Heart Ministries. You can see all of them on YouTube. Just type in “Fresh Heart For a New Day” to see them.

http://youtu.be/7ThEG8V5Xmk

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