Our Monday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Lahoma:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I Am the Lord, Who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24
"Boasting" defined by the online dictionary is "To glorify oneself or another in speech; talk in a admiring way; to speak of with excessive pride; to possess or own; to contain; have; the act or an instance of bragging; a source of pride."
As parents, we tend to boast about our kids, don’t we! When they hit the winning run at the all-star game or make the last 3 point shot for the basketball play-offs, we burst at the seams and stand and shout, "That’s my boy/girl!" When our kids get an award, we sit crammed in an auditorium with hundreds of other parents waiting to hear our child’s name, and then scream at the top of our lungs with pride at their accomplishment as if they were the only one there on stage! When they graduate from high school, we sit for hours in the hot sun in a packed stadium and then scream until we lose our voices when their names are called, why? Because we are so proud of them, because we know that they have done something worth cheering for.
As children of God, our relationship with Him is very similar in the fact that He is passionately involved in our lives and cheers us on from heaven’s grandstands until we join Him in eternity. His watchful eye is forever on us, and He eagerly looks for ways to bless us and support us along life’s journeys. Remember Job? God was so proud of Job’s life and testimony that He openly bragged about him in front of the heavenly hosts Job 1! We can also boast of our God and the things He has done! Can you pause and think of at least ten specific things that God has done in your life? How about starting with His free gift of eternal life through salvation by grace and not of works lest any man should boast Romans 3:23 God is not some impersonal energy force in the universe that just lets the world spin into oblivion, never taking interest in the affairs of man, God is a Personal God Who desires a personal relationship with each of us. When sin entered the world, sin separated us from our holy God, so He sent His only Son to die and pay the FULL penalty of our sin and restore our relationship with God. God offers this to all people freely. No hoops to jump through, no strings attached. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, accept His forgiveness of your sin, be restored to full relationship with God for eternity! Now THAT’S something to boast about! Halleluiah!
I offer you a word of caution, our passage today from Jeremiah is not encouraging us to boast in ourselves as evidenced by the reference to those who may boast of wisdom, strength or riches, but in God and His ways and His victories. The dictionary included a commonly known phrase: to blow one’s own trumpet in its definition of boasting and it means: To brag or boast; to call attention to one’s own accomplishments, usually with the implication that no one else is likely to do so; also, to toot one’s own horn. Though specific customs have been cited as giving rise to the phrase, the widespread and longstanding use of trumpets as attention-getting instruments seems explanation enough. Important personages and proclamations have long been heralded by a flourish of trumpets. God discourages us from bringing attention to our own actions or accomplishments. In the New Testament, Jesus tells his followers not to blow their own horns, so to speak:
When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.” Matthew 6:2
Apparently, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day made a public spectacle of their spirituality, and Jesus warned us that if we did this, our reward would be limited to the praise of men rather than heaven. When we boast of our God, we bring focus on God and not ourselves.
So how can we understand and know our Awesome God more intimately? How can we learn to boast of our great God and how deeply we know and understand Him? One way is found in Psalms 46:10, that directs us to simply be quiet: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” How important is it to not lean on our own understanding or our ability to eloquently speak, but to quietly let God show us His ways. I also love communing with Him in prayer and waiting for His reply. Another way is through worship, God inhabits the praises of His people and is glorified when we sing from our soul to His heart. I also love discovering new truths about God by studying His Word, the Bible, or by walking in nature and seeing the beauty and simplicity and care He took in the smallest detail or the mightiest mountain; I find that I learn and understand MORE about my God when I am simply slow down and let Him overtake me.
If you haven’t tried any of these ways in a while, I recommend that you make time to explore them and apply them to your daily life. Deuteronomy 4:29 tells us that it is possible to find God, "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Seek Him with your WHOLE heart and your WHOLE soul, not just the intellectual part or the rational part or the comfortable part, let God show you His heart, let Him whisper your name in the breeze, understand deeply that even though you will never fully understand God, you can understand that you DON’T understand God, and that He is in control even when you can see or feel it. Don’t boast in your wisdom, strength or riches; find your strength and boasting in your knowing your God. So many Bible heroes did what they did because they truly knew their God: Abraham, Job, Daniel, David, Moses, Mary, Peter, Paul to name a few. Join the ranks of boasters in the Bible, you’ll be in great company!
Our God is an AWESOME God!
Shalom, sister Lahoma
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An amazing read, Lahoma, thank you for sharing!
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