Many of God’s children see themselves as having a disadvantage, and it happens, right? It may be because they didn’t have the right parents, or they didn’t grow up in the right neighborhood, or they didn’t go to the right schools. Many see themselves as severely limited or under-privledged because of physical limitations or the color of their skin. The question is, how do you see yourself? Did you know that how you see or don’t see God determines how you see yourself?
Often times, what happens when you see yourself disadvantaged to those around you is, you start doing what you can do to make up the difference. You start taking matters into your own hands to even the playing field and take the advantage back. You start strategizing and calculating your every move and you begin to project what others are about to do so you don’t get left out or get behind. The Bible tells a story about a man who saw himself as disadvantaged and started taking matters into his own hands. You’re probably familiar with the story of Zacchaeus, right? He was the “wee-little man,” who climbed up in the tree to see Jesus walking through Jericho. But notice what the rich tax collector did to see Jesus.
“And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that [way.] 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Luke 19:3-5
Listen to this, there’s a lot of people today “running ahead and climbing up,” because otherwise they don’t want to be stepped on, overlooked and taken advantage of. What we see in this moment in Zacchaeus’ life, was his way of life. And many today are just like this short-statured man who are always calculating the next move instead of trusting God to see them right where they are and allowing Him the opportunity to make up any disadvantaged difference. Some would argue that those who do such things as calculating and projecting are just using good business sense, and God is not against being wise in business decisions. But God is against us seeing ourselves as disadvantaged in any way. Truth is, we have the advantage over the world no matter what our physical limits might be because of who our Father is! We have a Father who sits on the throne who sees us and loves us and is able to hear and answer our prayers. Here’s the truth, those who take advantage of their place in the throne room of God in prayer and faith, will never see the need to take advantage of others in order to get ahead and stay on top. Jesus wants to come to your house, just like He went to Zacchaeus’ house, to put an end to all the tedious calculating, manipulating and projecting. Oh, what amazing rest and peace God brings when He comes to our house.