First let me mention that I did not fully explain what setting a higher standard really means. Setting a higher standard doesn't mean setting higher goals for yourself according to what you believe YOU can accomplish. What I'm talking about is setting a higher standard according to the word of God and not man. Setting a higher standard according to the word of God takes the focus off of what man thinks he can "accomplish," and places it on what God can (and will) do through and in him.
Last post, I talked about setting a higher standard. Another step to setting a higher standard, that is, after knowing whose you are, is humbling yourself before God. A lot of times we naturally want to brag about the things we have accomplished. We say, "I did this," or "I did that." Essentially what we are really doing is trying to exalt ourselves. When we do this, we begin to take on a spirit of carnal or fleshly validation. What I mean by this is, we seek to validate ourselves or what we're doing by constantly bragging about it. What we are also doing is seeking a "well done" from man and not God. By doing this, we allow a separation between us and God to take place. In Psalm 138: 6, the psalmist, David, says the Lord, "cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud."
We cannot continue to brag or boast about what we think we have accomplished and expect God to honor it. Instead, we need to give God the glory he deserves in our successes. In 2 Corinthians 10: 17 it says, "...'If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord." I also like how the God's Word translation says it. It says, "Whoever brags should brag about what the Lord has done." Nowhere does it say brag about what you have done, but about what God has done. Simply put, without Him, we could not accomplish half of the things pre-destined for us.
When we humble ourselves, we are telling God that we cannot accomplish anything without Him and we want him to get all the glory. Essentially we are submitting ourselves to God and admitting to our dependency on Him. Now, some might ask, "How does humbling yourself set a higher standard?" Simply put, when we do this, we allow God to raise us up to the level that He has already set for us. That level that He will raise us up to is part of His higher standard, the higher standard according to the word of God.
I hope this post has been a blessing to you. God bless.
UP NEXT.........Setting a Higher Standard Part 3 (God's Limitless Blessings)
