More of Him... Less of Me

Often, my six-year-old son brings me something that he wants me to fix. Not only does he anticipate me dropping whatever I may be doing at the moment, he rarely ever wants me to do it entirely. He has a habit of dictating how I am to do what only I can do for him.

Aren’t we glad that we are always on the other side of this behavior as adults? I wish that were true in my life. It’s humbling to see the behavior in my kids only to be shown from my heavenly Father how I exhibit the very same routine with the concerns of my heart.

Saturday morning, as I was reading the Bible, I read something that stopped me in my tracks:

“When the priest withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their services because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his Temple.” 1 Kings 8:10-11

After Solomon completed the building of the Temple, the priests reverently and adequately placed the Ark of the LORD in the holiest part of the Temple. The Israelites anticipated God’s glory filling his new dwelling place. 

I cannot say with certainty that priests lingered and relished this accomplishment, but what I do know is that God did not enter the scene until they removed themselves. They may have wanted to linger and celebrate a job well done, but there was no room for them and God in that place at the same time. Only when they withdrew did God keep his vow and fill that place. 

God, over and over, says, “I will not give my glory to another…” (Isaiah 42:8). God will not share the stage with anyone or anything. He is a consummate gentleman and will not force Himself on us or into our lives, but do not be mistaken... He will wait for us to relinquish full control of what we bring to Him before He moves on our behalf.

My son, Luke, is learning that there’s very little success in bossing someone around while simultaneously trusting them to do what only they can do. Trying to stay in control and relinquish control at the same time never works; they can’t co-exist in the same heart. 

In the often-overlooked second part of John chapter 3, John was confronted by his disciples. They said, about Jesus, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - the one you testified about - well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him. To this, John replied, ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven… He must become greater; I must become less.’”

The Israelites learned that God would not move into the Temple until they removed themselves; John knew that the plan all along was for him to usher in the Savior and then to withdraw and let Him do what only He could accomplish; May God continue to help each of us do three things:

1. Bring our problems to Him.

2. Relinquish our grip on those things that we bring to him.

3. Proclaim to the world what He has done in our stories.