Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23–24)
Few people can live in the lap of luxury and maintain their spiritual, emotional, and moral equilibrium. Sudden elevation, often disturbs balance, which leads to pride and a sense of self-sufficiency—and then, a fall. It’s ironic, but more of us can survive a demotion with our integrity intact than we can a promotion. And it is at this level a godly leader shows himself or herself strong. The right kind of leaders, when promoted, know how to handle the honour.
A fellow named Asaph was the type of man described as “one in a hundred.” We don’t know much about him except that he wrote twelve of the Bible’s psalms. One of the twelve—Psalm 75—convinces me that Asaph had his head and heart together. Sandwiched between the first and last sections of the psalm, three verses flash like a neon sign, announcing wise counsel for anyone with a new promotion:
Do not lift up your horn on high,
Do not speak with insolent pride.
For not from the east, not from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation;
But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another. (Psalm 75:5–7 NASB)
Asaph wrote something like this: “Don’t toot your own horn! Remember your promotion didn’t just evolve. Behind your recent exaltation was the sovereign hand of God. You are the recipient of His goodness and grace.”
How easy to forget! Your non-Christian friends won’t see it like that, believe me. To them, a promotion comes by being in the right place at the right time, by knowing the right person, by shaking the right hands, by favouring the right boss, by scratching the right back. That’s just not so. God is the One who suddenly lifted Joseph from an Egyptian dungeon to the role of prime minister. Almost overnight. He exalted Daniel from a Babylonian boot camp to the king’s right hand. He’s the One who promoted Amos, an ignorant fig picker, to the polished, sophisticated halls of Bethel to be His personal spokesman. God knew that Joseph, Daniel, and Amos could handle a promotion.
And so could Nehemiah. Nehemiah provides one of the best biblical illustrations on how to handle a promotion. We’ve already seen how balanced he was. He worked to handle situations when things were bad, and he stood firm when things were good. Nehemiah rolled on when the project was moving ahead; and he paused and relaxed when the project briefly came to a halt. He knew when to requisition more bricks. He was a competent leader, and as a result, he was promoted (Nehemiah 5:14).
