Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war; and my fingers to fight.”
Have you ever noticed the credits that roll at the end of a show or movie? The star of the show gets his name in the credits, but he doesn’t deserve credit for it! Often it is disappointing to see or hear an actor in real life when he is speaking for himself. An actor may play a wise doctor or an admirable hero, but nothing he said was his–everything he said was handed to him!
In contrast, David was a man who gave credit to the One deserving the credit. Psalm 144:1 says, “Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” In verse 2, the Lord is called “my goodness” and “he in whom I trust.” David, the psalmist, knew that he had no goodness apart from God. Everything good that he could do came back to “the LORD [his] strength.” In other words, God received the credit for David’s life.
When the credits roll on your life, there are only a few likely candidates who will receive the credit. Either God will get the credit, the world will get the credit, or you will get the credit. However, God will not share the credit with anyone else (Isaiah 42:8).
For some people, the world is the only candidate to honestly get the credit for their lives. The world hands us psychology, and we call it counseling. The world hands us pop music, and we call it a church service. We frame things in such a way as to give God the credit when He wants nothing to do with such things! I do not feel compelled to put a Christian face on the world’s philosophy or music. God doesn’t want credit for something He would not put His name on. Living by the methods the world teaches will only lead to the world receiving credit for your life.
Other folks receive the creditfor their own lives. One of the best ways to determine who will get credit for your life is to identify the person getting it now. If people are always puffing you up, then guess what? You are probably the one getting the credit! It’s not wrong to receive a compliment from someone; but if you are always the one receiving credit for your life, that should be a warning flag. At some point, something is dreadfully wrong if I am always framing things so that God and I are both getting credit. There is not room for both of us to get credit.
Today, the world can get credit, you can get credit, or God can get credit. But remember that God refuses to share the credit with anybody else. In the same way that it would be crooked for God to share credit with the world, it would be equally wrong to think that I can share the credit with God for today’s events. Whom you are trusting before the victory will determine who gets the credit after the victory. Whose name will roll in the credits of your life?
Prayer Requests:
1. Revival service tonight in National City, CA; Margate, FL; and Peach Springs, AZ
2. Deaf Rally this weekend in Memphis, TN