Moving to the Next Level

UV 1093/10,000 Moving to the Next Level
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
Psalm 75 v 6
As human beings, we have ambitions in life. We have aspirations for our children too. None of us want to remain at the same level all the time. We strongly yearn to move to the next level. But in this uni-verse, the Lord affirms that our promotion lies in His hands. He appoints or sets the time for every rise, for every break we get in life. Instead of looking to our connections or people we know, we need to look to the Lord for our promotion. In due time He will prosper us in our ways as He did for Jacob. Everything we assume to be a break can actually turn out to be a breakdown as it happened to the manipulating Jacob. Jacob after he fled from his home had no place to go. He had lost his bearings in life. In whichever direction he looked, it was only wilderness and an unknown and uncertain future. He looked to the God of his father, Isaac and his grandfather Abraham and the Holy Spirit prompted him to go to the house of Laban, his father’s kin. It took him fourteen years of labour for Laban before he could move to the next level of being independent. He could now return to the land of his father.

Sometimes there is a slip between the cup and the lip. Recently, a senior officer left to join a prestigious post that she had been selected for. She acted on the advice of her present boss. But unfortunately, the Supreme Court restrained her from acting in that post till it determined its validity. We must look to the Lord for guidance and to validate all our moves. Whether we should move east, west, south or north, we must seek specific cues and leading of the Lord. Leadership is like walking at the edge of knowledge, not knowing whether our next move will plunge us downwards or enable us to climb upwards. What we think could be a rise or promotion may lead to a fall. Trust in the Lord does not mean that we become indolent, lethargic and we rest on our oars or past triumphs of faith. It means a fine balance between due diligence and waiting for the dew of the Lord’s favour. God provides a ladder and a bridge in our lives not an escalator and a travelator. We got to do our own climbing and walking thankful for the bridge and the ladder for without it the best of us cannot cross over or climb.



We cannot hold more than a handful at a time in our hands or in our minds. It is best to trust in the Lord than in the princes or the rulers or influential people of this world. We are princes of the other world, sons and daughters of an eternal Kingdom. We have been spiritually promoted to these positions already on account of faith. Jesus as the Prince of Peace will give us peace in our decisions, the peace that the world cannot take away, that the enemy cannot steal or destroy. We too are princes along with Him and as princes of His kingdom, we should follow the principles of Jesus. The princes of this world rule through fear, distrust, love of money and power, pride, manipulation, favour and belief in chance. They form strategic alliances or nexus with evil to advance their causes. The princes and princesses of the Lord wait on the Lord for further promotion. Their principles are trust, contentment, peace, justice, love, humility and hope. Their only hope is anchored heavily in the Lord and His promises of Shalom promotion or due promotion in due time. They do not grasp for what is not intended by God for them. Even if today our hope is only as small as a fist, the Lord can cause it to expand and fill the whole sky.

Prateep V Philip