I’m always thinking of what’s next. What’s the next idea… What can I do to move forward? This kind of drive or forward thinking also gets me down quickly. I crash in a heep of discouragement. I had one of those moments this week. I felt overwhelmed and powerless. I opened my Bible (always a good idea).
I was reading in Matthew 4 because I am currently working through the Gospels. This chapter opens a scene of Satan tempting Jesus in the desert.
One of Satan’s schemes was to tempt Jesus with power and success. Satan says “I can give you all of these cities to rule over” — as if Satan is actually in charge here. Jesus wasn’t having it. He answers with scripture, “you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
Jesus knew who is ultimately in power. Not a human, not a fallen angel, but God. C’mon, can I get an amen!? What!? Yes! Praise God! AND Jesus came to overcome the world. It’s already been won. He didn’t have to prove anything. And believer, neither do you.
When I read that the first thing I thought of was that wow, Jesus is safe. We’ve all had to experience power hungry humans in our lives. Whether it’s a negative experience with authority, a co-worker, a parent, a teacher, a boss… We’ve all experienced pain from someone who is grasping for power. Jesus had nothing to prove. He knew who had the power and he didn’t need to grasp for it, cheat, look down on others, exhaust himself to get ahead.
So the next time you run into someone who is trying to power trip you at your job, or if your boss is claiming credit for all of your ideas, or if someone is micromanaging you. All of those awful experiences can make you feel powerless. It can be easy to try and prove yourself in a way that jeopardizes your character, or cheat to get ahead. Remember, Gods got you, child of God! He is in control and you’ve got nothing to prove.
