I have been awestruck by the power and majesty of our God.

Jesus is the Lord of Hosts which means “God of the armies of heaven.” (Learn more about the beautiful name of God here.)

I love that the first racount of this name particular name of God is in 1 Samuel 1:3,

Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas (NLT).

This is the beginning of the story of Hannah. Hannah was one of Eklanah’s two wives who could not bear children. I love that in the opening of the racount of Hannah’s life, the Lord is characterized as the Lord of Hosts. The God that would finally answer her prayers for a child is known as "the LORD of Heaven’s Armies". What a reminder and encouragement that when we pray to God, making our requests known to Him, we are praying to a God who lord’s over the armies of Heaven!

I have been awestruck over the idea that God is a God who reigns in all the earth. He reigns in the Heavens and in the earth. Wow… to get a revelation that our God is a God who reigns. So much of the peace we lack in our lives would come easily if we learned to discipline our hearts to rest in Heaven perspective, the true reality of our lives. Consider the following verse:

6 He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize.[d] 7 Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! 8 He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient.[e] He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion![f]

9 Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names!

Let’s reflect on this for a moment,,,

God, who is Christ, did not “seize equality with god as his supreme prize.”

We know from John 3:16,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

So Jesus, who was God, loved the world so deeply, so intimately they He decided, the scriptures tell us, to humble Himself to the point of death.

Why?

Because He loved us…

So often in my life, I live as if I am unloved by God. I turn to parents, friends, or worldly systems for approval, for love and affirmation, when the reality is that the Creator of the Universe loves me. Why is this so important?

We must understand that God’s reigning is deeply tied to His deep love for us, His children.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him (1 John 3:1 NIV).

It was the greatest expression of God’s love that He would call us His children. This is only possible because of what Christ did. He didn’t stay stuck in His supremacy in a way that would keep Him distant from us, He humbled himself, becoming a man, laying His life down so that we could know what true love is, that we could become one with Him.

I mean, wow! To have a revelation of the love of God…

We wouldn’t sell Him for the cheap instant gratification of sin, if we truly had a revelation of His unchanging, unconditional love.

Glory to God! Glory to God in the highest.

The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm.[g] 11 And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,”[h] bringing glory and honor to God, his Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

Because of Christ’s love, He reigns.

We must understand that He died because He loved us, not to prove His worth to God, not to earn something from God— He himself was God so this wouldn’t even be possible! He died because He loved.

This is the way that Christ desires for us to live before God.

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21

God doesn’t want us to humble ourselves to earn something from Him or to prove our worth to Him. He doesn’t call us to sacrifice or to deny ourselves because we need t ogain entrance into Heaven or to gain any gifts thereafter that may come in the process of sanctification. You can’t earn a successful business or ministry or position or gift or family. You can’t earn anything from God. He does not withhold good gifts from His children. And that’s exactly what all of these things are, gifts. Your life is a gift, and anything you may ever possess in this life of value is a gift.

The great lie of the enemy is that we have to earn our possessions and positions.

We cannot earn possessions. We can not earn positions. This applies both to this temporary life and the eternal life after this one.

God reigns and He has chosen to exalt Christ above all else. Let’s read it again,

The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm.[g] 11 And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,”[h] bringing glory and honor to God, his Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

Jesus has authority because He was motivated by love to obey. In the same way, we have authority in the Kingdom of God when we are motivated by love to obey.

I want us to understand that nothing good comes from being driven by fear of failure or fear of death or fear of hell. True obedience, that God desires to see in His children, is motivated by love.

We must imitate Christ not just in His actions but in His motivations.

We are not to desire high positions, we are not to desire fame, wealth, and success. If it comes, then let it be to His glory and the edification of His Kingdom. However, our only desire, our only goal I believe is most accurately described through the words of the Apostle Paul:

 Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! 8 To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now, so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embrace him as Lord in all of his greatness.

9 My passion is to be consumed with him and not cling to my own “righteousness” based in keeping the written Law. My only “righteousness” will be his, based on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—the very righteousness that comes from God. 10 And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and become like him in his death. 11 Only then will I be able to experience complete oneness with him in his resurrection from the realm of death. Philippians 3:7-11 TPT

Our aim in life is to know Him.

Our aim in life is not to be used by Him in ministry, not to become super successful according to the world’s standard.

Success in the Kingdom is defined by our obedience to growing in the knowledge of God as we obey His commandment and follow in His ways.

Now, one of the greatest ways to grow in our knowledge of Him is to serve with Him.

As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4 NIV

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4:34 NIV

The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. John 14:12-14 NIV

We must understand that when we grow in Christ, we grow in works but these works do not earn us anything before God. As we live our highest aim and that is to “know Christ and the power of His resurrection” much flows from this— impact, ministry, “success"— it all comes as we obey, as we follow like the sheep we are called to be.

Beloved, my encouragement to you today is to believe in the sufficiency of Christ’s love. It is enough for you. Rest in it. Meditate on what He has done for you. Out of gratitude, obey. Love Him. He loves to be loved; He is a jealous God. Enjoy Him today.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 NIV