Don’t worry about your own reputation, let Christ define you.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
A submitted believer should not be worried about his or her reputation, what people say or think about them because they can rest assured that God will be glorified through them and in every area and aspect of their lives.
For this reason when the Lord reveals things to us for the purpose of setting someone free, address it one time not wondering about who will say what. He is a wondrous working God and will get the glory for everything he tells you to do.
People can remain in bondage if you are more concerned about your own reputation. We are not called to explain to devils why they need to leave but to drive them out immediately.
In a physical army do you see soldiers explaining to their opposer and the civilians what is going to be their move and why? Never! They act upon instruction and then await the next instruction, this is how we are supposed to move concerning the things of God, with the exception of a teaching session where you will be required to demonstrate the gospel making it relatable.
I had something to take care of and things seemed to be getting out of my control concerning it, so I inquired of the Lord, saying Lord this is not the way I’d like to be remembered by my inability to meet this deadline, the Lord said “whose reputation is more important?” so I got my answer, which is that he is in the details and will get the glory.
This is a reminder that when you have exceeded all your options concerning a thing, and all doors seem to be closed, that is when the Lord will step in. Just like he did to recover Lazarus, if he came earlier he would not have been remembered as the bearer of life getting the Glory in that moment. Therefore allow the Lord to work it out for you.
Genesis 22 -10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
That moment of Sacrifice was a covenant between God and Abraham, likewise when the Lord require a special covenant with us he will ask us to leave something that is the closest to our heart, this is to ensure that God’s will is first in our lives, that level of commitment gives God the assurance that nothing will come before him, and in such a moment he will be able to make a covenant with us.
Even when Job lost everything, it was a test to see if he was serving God diligently just because he was enjoying the benefits or he would stay in the presence of the Lord with nothing. It was hard but Job did not leave God’s presence.
Holding on to things that you know God told you to put down is just as good as pushing God away and telling him “let me do it my way Lord”, because by doing this, you leave no room for him to come into covenant with you for his Glory. Sacrifice is so important. The closer something is to your heart the harder it will be for you to give it up as a sacrifice, therefore when you do, the more meaningful it will be to God.
One time the Lord told me to leave something close to me and I wept deeply, went on a three day dry fast and kept seeking the Lord, on the evening of the third day, he said in blessing he will bless me because I kept him first, indicating he will fix things concerning that matter for his glory, revealing it was a test.
May we all make excellent sacrifices for our Lord in Jesus name.
CHRIST Reinforcement Ministries 