Luke 14:7-11: When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
My last blog ended with a prayer that has proven a little more painful than I thought it would be: "Search me and know my heart. See if there is any offensive way in me. If there is, cut it out, remove it and lead me in Your path because that’s the only place I want to be."
Take the least important seat. Not an easy lesson to accept, but definitely one that God is teaching me. I’ve found that the steps to God’s kingdom are upside down. To go up, you have to go down. To be great, you become the servant. But it’s not always easy to accept the “lowest place.”
I look at the life of David: he was anointed as king of Israel, and he knew it. Whether he thought he was ready for it or not, it happened. Then he just waited. Saul was still king. Sure, God rejected him, but he had been God’s anointed one. So David waited…
And he ran. God anointed David king, and then David had to run to save his life. Wait a second. If God gives us something as great as kingship, shouldn’t we just walk into it and be awesome? Why all the struggle for something you’ve already been given? Why all the running?
David had to accept the lowest place. Given the opportunity to remove Saul from the picture, David stepped back. He was willing to take the least important place. He was willing to be a king running for his life and hiding in a cave rather than a king who demanded what was rightfully his.
One of the hardest things to do is give someone else the seat of honor when everything inside you feels like they don’t deserve it. Or, like David, when God promises you something, but you have to wait for it. And maybe you have to run for your life, struggling and wondering what the whole timing is on this thing. You know that God is there…there are no doubts about where He has called you. You know that God is sovereign…He’s very aware of the situation. Sometimes, what we don’t know is how far this staircase goes down.
I don’t know how well I’m doing at the taking the lowest place, but I know it’s where God is telling me to be satisfied. God has told me to give someone else the honor, but one of my biggest struggles is watching the one sitting in the place of honor, knowing that we were both invited.
So my prayer continues…God, this hurts. Bad. I didn’t expect this, but it’s where I am. I know you’re sovereign. I know I’m not forsaken. Help me to remember that I have been invited, and even in the lowest place, your presence is very real.
