PROMOTION COMES FROM THE HAND OF GOD

Proclamation:

“No one from the east or the west of from the desert can exalt themselves.  It is God who judges; He brings one down, He exalts another.”  Psalm 75:6-7 (NIV)  The King James version of The Bible for this verse reads: “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor the west, nor the south.  But God is the judge; He putteth down one and setteth up another.”

Explanation:

The words of the psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Asaph, a Levite who was an outstanding musician in the days of King David who was also appointed minister of music or choir leader.  The psalm is a song that begins by praising The Lord God.  The psalmist states that if is not for man to promote himself, all promotion comes by the permissive will of God who exalts whom He pleases and puts down whoever He pleases.

Application:

Worldly fame, fortune, position, power, and honor all come from The Lord God and He can give it to, or take it away from anyone that He pleases.  All too often we think that we “deserve” a promotion or position, and we get upset when we don’t get it.  We need to understand that The Lord opens some doors of opportunity for us and He closes others. (Revelation 3:7-8)   He knows what we have done and we will only get that which He has in store for us.  Position, power, and prestige are only given to those whom He chooses and that fits in with His plan and purpose.

Better To Be Invited Up Than To Be Asked Down

"Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; it is better for him to say to you, 'Come up here,' than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman."  Proverbs 25:6-7 (NIV)

The wise man, King Solomon, taught that it is good to be humble.  It is better to be invited up to a seat of honor, than it is to take a seat among honored guests and to be humiliated by being asked to move and step down and give the seat that you took to another.  

We should not assume that there is a seat of honor reserved for us.  We should not take a seat of honor without being told to sit there.  It does not matter whether that seat is on the podium, on the stage, at the head table, at the head of the table, or in the reserved seating section, we should not assume that we are being so honored.  We should humble ourselves and sit in an unassuming place until we are invited to sit in a seat of honor.  It can be a very humiliating and embarrassing experience to be asked to give up a seat which you chose that was reserved for some one else.  Being humble can spare us a lot of hurt feelings.  It is better to be invited up, than to be asked down.  Honor is better bestowed upon us than wrongly presumed by us.  Jesus, The Christ, taught a similar lesson in a parable about the narrow door. (Luke 13:22-30)  His point was "those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."  He taught a similar lesson in the parable about a wedding. (Luke 14:7-11)  His point was "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  This can also be applied to other situations.  Do not exalt yourself to The King of Kings, do not falsely include yourself among the righteous.  There will be those who will show up to the judgement seat at the entrance to heaven, and they will be asked to leave.

Didn't Get The Position Or Promotion You Wanted?

"No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man.  But it is God who judges; He brings one down, He exalts another."  Psalms 75:6-7 (NIV)

The Psalmist makes the point that God is the judge.  It is He that can exalt a man or put him down.

A lot of us complain because we did not get the position or promotion that we feel that we deserved.  We fail to realize that God is in charge, that is who we are working for, and He is the one who judges us.  He decides who He wants to promote or demote.   Maybe we need to please Him more and "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 (NIV)