1 Samuel 18:14 David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the LORD was with him.
David’s success did not stop at the Valley of Elah when he knocked the giant out with a rag and a rock; he continued to be successful, victorious and triumphant as the Lord was with him. The greatest enemy of people is the last success. “The greatest enemy of progress is your last success, you could become so proud of what you’ve already accomplished that you stop moving ahead to what you can still accomplish.” – Myles Munroe. While mediocre people are swept away by pride of the last accomplishment, people with an excellent spirit, stand on their past success and step into their destiny direction. Success should make us humble, meek and surrender before the Lord for us to grow in the vision that God has for us. The principle to success and a spirit of excellence is the same in the spiritual and secular realms.
Spirit of excellence will give back the honour that comes from success to the Lord – “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.” (Isaiah 26:13). Excellence, power and distinction will grow, multiply and augment when our footing is on the solid foundation of humility. 2 Samuel 5:10 And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.
Spirit of Excellence and humility:
1. Self: The first step to humility is to crucify the “self” on the cross. Selfish thoughts, self-oriented lives and opinionated judgements on others must be nailed to the cross. While mediocre spirited people talk about people, excellent spirited people will discuss about purpose. Evaluate the quality of your conversation and assess the level of growth of a person. People with mediocrity will talk more and listen less. They will talk about their accomplishments rather than listening to the needs of others. To become a person of excellent spirit, crucify your “self”. Defeat self-oriented thought pattern and build purpose-oriented thinking, to become a person of excellent spirit.
2. Service: Humble people enjoy the growth of others and learn from others. When you find those who can criticise first before they can compliment, we hear the voice of pride not humility. 1 Chronicles 17:7 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. Success is not to build our own empire but to accomplish God’s purpose. Spirit of excellence flourishes in the pasture of humility.
3. Surrender: Spirit of excellence thrives in a surrendered heart. Acts 13:22 I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. A person with an excellent spirit will not be puffed with the praise of people and be stringed to their whims and wishes but will be surrendered to understand and fulfil the will of the Father. God promoted David simply because he was humble enough to be used as a vessel to accomplish the will of God. Spirit of excellence seeks, submits and surrenders to the will of the Father.
The steps of humility, selflessness and surrender will take us to the heights of excellence.
Acts 13:36 Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I turn back the honour that comes to me in humility fully realising that my success, promotion and elevation comes only from you. Amen
Leave a Reply