1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14; Acts 27:21-44; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24
God respects people who are reliable. Reliable people are settled and trustworthy. When a person is reliable, they can be made responsible for important matters. To be responsible means to be committed to something to ensure a positive outcome. To give a responsibility to an unreliable person is a recipe for frustration and failure.
Often we strive for greater responsibility (titles, positions, and prominence) without demonstrating consistent reliability. When a person who is unreliable is given a position of responsibility, they will always make excuses for why things did not go well and place the blame on someone else. When a reliable person is in a position of responsibility, they will understand that while the problem is not their fault, it is their responsibility to fix it.
When Israel was returning to Jerusalem after the exile, the families that had been judged reliable in the past resumed their responsibilities without being asked. (I suspect that even when they were in exile, they wondered what was happening with their areas of responsibility.) Before you seek responsibility, be certain that you are reliable because reliability is an essential character trait. Reliable people will always see a need and meet it. Pray that God will reveal areas in your life where you are not reliable and ask Him to help you strengthen them so that you can be entrusted with more responsibility.
Tomorrow’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31;Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3