Monday, 25th July, 2022
Bible Reading: Daniel 4: 28-37
Memory Verse: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride. Daniel 4:37 (NIV)
Simon Sinek once shared a story about a former UnderSecretary of Defense who gave a speech at a large conference. He took his place on the stage and began talking, sharing his prepared remarks with the audience. He paused to take a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup he’d brought on stage with him. He took another sip, looked down at the cup and smiled. “You know,” he said, interrupting his own speech, “I spoke here last year. I presented at this same conference on this same stage. But last year, I was still an Undersecretary,” he said. “I flew here in business class and when I landed, there was someone waiting for me at the airport to take me to my hotel. Upon arriving at my hotel,” he continued, “there was someone else waiting for me. They had already checked me into the hotel, so they handed me my key and escorted me to my room.
The next morning, when I came down, again there was someone waiting for me in the lobby to drive me to this same venue that we are in today. I was taken through a back entrance, shown to the greenroom and handed a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic cup.” “But this year, as I stand here to speak to you, I am no longer the Undersecretary,” he continued. “I flew here coach class and when I arrived at the airport yesterday there was no one there to meet me. I took a taxi to the hotel, and when I got there, I checked myself in and went by myself to my room. This morning, I came down to the lobby and took another taxi to come here. I came in through the front door and found my way backstage. Once there, I asked one of the techs if there was any coffee. He pointed to a coffee machine on a table against the wall.
So I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee into this here Styrofoam cup,” he said, as he raised the cup to show the audience. “It occurs to me,” he continued, “the ceramic cup they gave me last year…it was never meant for me at all. It was meant for the position I held. I deserve a Styrofoam cup.” “This is the most important lesson I can impart to all of you,” he offered. “All the perks, the benefits and advantages you may get for the rank or position you hold, aren’t meant for you. They are meant for the role you fill. And when you leave your role, which eventually you will, they will give the ceramic cup to the next person who replaces you. Because you only ever deserved a Styrofoam cup.” School campus executives, political leaders, parish pastors, and all leaders in general should please learn from this. This parable is a sober reminder to use positions of power to benefit others, and not let the trappings of titles or status cloud our judgement. If anything, it encourages the following as a best practice — Stay humble. Stay hungry.
Quote: Only in your humility is your continuous lifting else a downfall is imminent.
Prophetic Decree: I command all the infrastructures of pride sponsored by your ancestry in your heart to catch fire, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. My Father (3ce), roast to ashes every spirit of pride locked up in my heart, in Jesus name.
2. My Father, wear me the garment of humility, in Jesus name.
3. Open my eyes, O Lord to all the manifestations of pride in my life, in Jesus name.
4. Hammer of deliverance, knock out pride in my heart, in Jesus name.
5. Any aura of pride around my personality, clear away by fire, in Jesus mighty name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 37-39; Psalm 76