Day 73: Make it God’s Kingdom
Read: Genesis 10:10-14
Cady was the new girl in school after moving from Africa where she was homeschooled. She didn’t know anyone but was befriended by some outsiders named Janice and Damien. They decide to bring it upon themselves to take down the powerful mean girl: Regina George.
Regina and her posse of Plastics rule the school and are mean to just about everyone. She works to build a persona of popularity and fear, amassing all the girls in the junior class to want to be just like her. But in the process, she alienates her closest ally and unexpectedly allows Cady to infiltrate her group.
Regina ends the school year with a fractured spine and losing all of her friends. Her kingdom has fallen, and it has taken her with it. While she does eventually find a way to channel her anger and get to be a more normal person in her senior year, the kingdom never returns. And she is luckier than most that she was given a second chance, unlike the kingdoms created by the sons of Ham.
They created some of the most powerful nations in the ancient world: Canaan, Egypt, and Babel (Babylon) for example. They ruled most of the region and were deemed to be the fiercest of all nations, conquered by none. But this stopped being the case when the Lord decided to have His input.
Canaan was in the land the Lord had promised to the Israelites after they had escaped from Egypt. The land was fruitful and plentiful, flowing with milk and honey. But, they were also wicked people, worshipping false idols and sinning against the Lord. But God used Joshua to conquer the land and the people. Bringing an end to their reign in the land, destroying who they were as people.
God is bigger than anything we might be able to do or build. When we create a kingdom, with the desire to honor ourselves and our wants, nothing but destruction will come. We tend to do this with the small things in our lives. Social media is probably the biggest kingdom we create.
Our profiles only show what we want the world to see. Every word, image, and emoji are carefully finessed and painstakingly chosen. But, we are more depressed and anxious than ever. We are unable to deal with the life we have been given because we want a life that is greater than ours, honor us instead of the One who deserves to be honored.
Today is the day to take down the kingdom and shrines you have built for yourself and build up a pattern of honoring the true King. Ask God to show you those areas of self-promotion and praise and for His strength to turn that praise to Him. Look at your Instagram and ask God to show you where you have failed in honoring Him, but honoring yourself.