Acts 1:23-26
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
I am so carnally minded sometimes, even while reading my devotions. This morning was especially true. As I continue reading for the month of November, the book of Acts; the last four verses of chapter one drew my attention, and I had to pause and ask God to forgive my carnal mind.
We see in this chapter the Apostles are praying and asking the Lord who should fill the slot left by Judas Iscariot. They give the qualifications in order to be considered; they had to be there throughout the entire ministry of Christ on earth, and two men were named as potential "candidates," if I may use that term. We see that Matthias was chosen over Justus after lots were cast.
I couldn’t help but think, "what about Justus?! Why wasn’t he promoted? He had been there through everything too!" The fact of the matter is that, the Apostles sought the Lord’s will in choosing, they prayed and cast their lots, and Matthias was chosen. It was not because Matthias was better than Justus, or was more talented and spiritual. It was simply the Lord’s will.
The problem here that I tend to wrestle with is, "why not me?" When it comes to discipleship, training, and ministry; what is our attitude when it comes to "promotion?" Do we desire for others to be pushed, so to speak? Do we rejoice when our brothers in Christ are given greater opportunities to serve? Or, like the carnal thought that entered my mind briefly this morning; do we ask "why not me?" "Am I not ‘good enough?’"
If we desire to have a great impact on reaching the world with the gospel of Christ; we should also desire to encourage, get behind, and cheer for our brothers when they are allowed a God given opportunity to serve the King!
My prayer this morning is that God would allow me to do great things for Him, even if it is encouraging and supporting others in the fore-front of the ministry!
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