Celebrate your victories with caution!

Luke 10:17-24

When the seventy disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Even the demons obey us when we use your name.”

“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lightning! And I have given you authority over all the power of the Enemy, and to walk among serpents and scorpions and to crush them. Nothing shall injure you! However, the important thing is not that demons obey you, but that your names are registered as citizens of heaven.” Then he was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the intellectuals and worldly wise and for revealing them to those who are as trusting as little children. Yes, thank you, Father, for that is the way you wanted it. I am the Agent of my Father in everything; and no one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then, turning to the twelve disciples, he said quietly, “How privileged you are to see what you have seen. Many a prophet and king of old has longed for these days, to see and hear what you have seen and heard!”

Food for thought!

When the Seventy disciples returned on their first weekend, they were radiant with the triumphs which they had done in the name of Jesus; they had achieved a lot. They were happy for their results, just as we are at the end of the month or at weekend. It is good to celebrate our victories, our successes. It is good to tell Jesus, not only our problems, but also our successes. Some of us talk to the Lord only when we are afflicted, never when we are celebrating our milestones.

However, many times our joy is misplaced. After telling Jesus about their victories, Jesus immediately said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven." That is a difficult phrase to understand. It may have been a warning against pride. The legend was that it was for pride towards God that Satan was cast out of heaven and glory. It may be that Jesus was saying to the rejoicing disciples, "You have had your triumphs; keep yourselves from pride, for once the chief of all the angels fell to pride and was cast from heaven."
Certainly Jesus went on to warn his disciples against pride and over-confidence. It was true that they were given all power, but their greatest glory was that their names were written in heaven. It will always remain true that our greatest glory is not what we have done for the Lord, but what God has done for us.

We should therefore rejoice not because we made so much money this week, or that we broke so many deals, or that we have had so much success this time around; we should rejoice rather because the Lord has used us to serve his people. In other words, we rejoice for being known by heaven, and for having our names written in heaven. This is the true cause for joy and glory.