The God Card

I have been thinking a lot about the humility of Jesus, especially in the context of Him having all power and authority in Heaven above and Earth below.

In Philippians 2, we see clearly that Jesus is King of the universe and never lost trust in the Father, even when the sin of the world was placed on Him and their perfect fellowship was broken.

Your sin and mine was placed on the Lamb of God, and the Father poured out His anger and wrath on His beloved Son—all to pay for sin so that forgiveness could be offered to the world.

When the pressure was on Jesus to the point of sweating blood, He never played the "God card" by asking for a plan B. When He was held down and nails were driven into His hands, He didn’t use His power or authority to relieve His pain and take revenge on those who didn’t repent or honor Him.

With one word, they could be cast into Hell, but the text says that “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8)!"

We have a way of forgetting who God is.

When Jesus stood before Pilate, who got angry because Jesus wasn’t answering his questions, Pilate said to Jesus, “‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you (John 19:10)?’"

Jesus looked at Pilate and confidently responded, “‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above (John 19:11).’”

In that moment, Jesus trusted the Father’s will and humbled Himself to the shame of the cross.

Oh, brothers and sisters, let’s commit to not play our “God cards” like Pilate, using power plays to get what we wish. Let’s instead fight to stay in the presence of Christ Jesus and submit to His ways, His timing, and His trustworthy will no matter what.

Let’s cling to our Savior’s love, knowing God’s grace will always grant long-term blessing, even if we drink the cup of rejection for a brief moment. Remember that God uses all things for His glory and our good.

Look at how today’s the passage ends:

“... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).”

Remember our highest calling is the glory of the Father, and His glory is always for our highest good when we live out the life of Jesus in a dark world.

Jesus is Lord. Every knee will bow to Him. Cling to Christ, and the Holy Spirit will make your light shine so that people will see Jesus in your works and glorify your Father in Heaven.

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