September 22, 2023
My beloved children in Christ, I greet and bless you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am delighted to meet you all on this day, September 22nd, through this daily blessing word.
Let us read Proverbs 18:12, “And before honour is humility.” To reach the pinnacle of your profession, business, ministry, or trade, you must first completely humble yourself. Today, many people perish due to pride. I have seen many people perish due to pride and arrogance. They would be quite successful, and when God brings them to the heights of fame, they puff up in pride, saying, “Everything happened because of me, everything happened because of my talent, everything happened because of my hard work.” God resists the proud. When you face problems in the world, the only person who can save you is God. But God stands against a man; do you know who it is? The proud. Children of God, please come out of your pride. Many are proud of their caste; others are proud of their beauty. Some are proud of their complexion. They are proud of their fair complexion. Some are proud of their education. Many are proud that they have their own house. Others are proud of their government jobs. The Lord says you are impeding your advancement by being proud of one of these. What is God’s formula? If you humble yourself, He will lift you up. Before honour is humility. The Lord has clearly indicated that there is no prospect of reaching the peak until you humble yourself.
King Nebuchadnezzar had won great victories in war. He built the famous hanging gardens. He became arrogant. He said, “This great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty.” He lauded his own brilliance in the Babylon hanging gardens. That instant he ate grass like oxen. That was the Lord’s punishment for his arrogance. Many times, we are not able to comprehend why we are suffering. Why did this happen? Arrogance and pride caused it. The Lord says even if you are perishing due to pride, He will give you a second chance. Henceforth humble yourselves completely, God will raise you. For many years I suffered as a tenant in rented houses. Later the Lord blessed me with my own house, called Glorious Palace. An independent four-floor bungalow. Bro Sam Jebadurai came and dedicated the house, after the dedication service I gave my testimony. I looked back at the path I had travelled, came to Chennai, and worked in a small hotel washing plates, cleaning tables, and removing the dirty plates. I moved on to become a driver, from there as an owner of a taxi company, after which God gave me a car company called Stephen Cars. I was doing part-time ministry those days and used to share my testimony in several places. My business was flourishing those days. Many friends who were Hindu, Muslim, and Christian and did business with me had come, to the function and they listened to my testimony with tears. This is what I shared, “I came empty-handed with nothing to the city of Chennai, faced many hurdles, and the only person who is responsible for raising me to this level is the Lord Jesus Christ whom I worship. He is the reason for my progress. It is because of Him that I am a businessman. I am the owner of this bungalow because of Him. All this honour is due to Him. I humbled my heart shared my testimony and praised God in front of the people.
After the dedication ceremony, a nice meal was given and later everyone left. A close friend who was with me in business called me after reaching his place, “Everything was fabulous but in the end, you spoilt it. The function was grand, the house was beautiful, the food delicious but at the end, you spoilt it.” I could not understand what he meant. He said, “The whole city thinks you are a wealthy person for many generations and a successful businessman. Why did you say, ‘I cleared the plates, cleaned the tables, worked as a cleaner’ and defamed yourself? Why did you throw dust on your face? All of us have placed you on a pedestal. Why did you do this disgraceful thing? Everyone has some background like this, but after reaching a certain status we should not think about these bygone days. To establish your name, you should have spoken about your present flourishing status. I allowed him to speak for a while after which I said, “Whatever I shared is the truth. God is the reason for my honour. Won’t you acknowledge the person who helped you in your life, the same way God was the only one who was there to help me in the city of Chennai? Neither relatives nor friends were affluent enough to help me. Only God raised me. He is the reason for my excellence. That is why I shared these things. Because of this, It is fine with me if someone speaks disparagingly about me. I only want to glorify God’s name.”
After hearing this he said, “You are a selfless man!” He had questioned me like this just to check me out. He did not think of me badly. He wanted to check how I would answer the question and what I would reveal through it. He said, “This is why you are progressing fast. This is missing in many people. I am very proud of you. I salute you. I was feeling very happy. Perhaps God has prospered you from a state of nothingness. Please do not forget what the Lord has done. Wherever you get to a stage, don’t forget to share the goodness of God. Exalt the Lord. He will exalt you to the extent that you exalt Him. That is why this verse says, Humility before Honour. As you humble yourself, God will exalt you. God has raised me even in the ministry. Do you know the reason? Even today I look back at the path I have taken. I respect those who are going through what I went through. When I listen to their problems, I have tears as I respect them and consider their sufferings as mine. When I pray for those who are suffering my eyes are filled with tears. In this world, you are not going to gain anything by being proud. Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord saying, “All I have is because of You.” God will want to exalt you more. From today bury your pride and arrogance and humble yourself before God.
Dear Lord, we thank You. We thank You for speaking to us that the greatest blessing of humility is honour. I offer you a million thanks
for raising me from the dirt to the mountaintop. Every honour has come from You, all glory be to You. Now I pray for my children who are suffering and are in agony, let them humble themselves in the presence of God and receive blessings, honour, and fame. Make them a channel of blessing to many. In Jesus Name. Amen.
