Recently I was, yet again, reminded of the value of those men and women who have walked the long, humble, road and walked it well. There is just something special about those who have given their life to the service of God and others and have consistently walked in their lane or in their calling. They haven’t sought in their own power, more (in human terms) than what God has given them. Rather, they have recognized who God has called them to be and trusted that his calling was significant, no matter how it looked to culture around them.
That’s so hard, isn’t it? In our culture of self, where everyone is looking for their 15 minutes of fame or looking for the next thing to figure out how they can appear significant to their so-called friends on social media, how hard it is to live humbly. Think about it. How many people do you know who are content with where God has them, right now? So many are looking for the next step up or have been saying, praying, hoping that “God has big things for me.” Well, maybe we should all look at scripture for what God calls “big things.”
In Numbers, chapter 2, God is giving orders for how the Israelites are to break camp and move on to other places. He instructs the tribe of Dan to go last. That’s right, Dan, your last in line. Yet, that last spot in line is very significant. They would have to guard the most vulnerable position, make sure the stragglers are picked up, make sure all property is brought with the nation. In fact, the Israelites were attacked from the rear by the Amalekites. But, what if the Dan tribe had aspirations to be first? They would have missed God’s special purpose for them. See, God’s economy works different than our fallen and misguided world’s perspective. God has special rewards for those who recognize their unique position in his service. Jesus said that the meek, those who accept their spiritual calling, are blessed. In Luke 18, he praised the common man’s prayer and rejected the fanciful, showy, prayer of the so-called “important” person. He also said in Matthew 20, that the last shall be first…meaning that those who might seem last by society’s standards, but continue to run in their lane, they will be first in his forever economy. In 1 Peter 5:6, we read that we are to humble ourselves and wait on God to exalt us in his time. That means, stop salivating for significance, power, web-fame, and serve God right where he has you, right now! In his time, he will exalt you to a place of significance of service to him, which might seem “lowly” in human terms, but is uniquely special in service to Jesus Christ.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.”
