In this episode of the Weekday Podcast, we dive into the powerful words of 1 Samuel 2:30, where God promises to honor those who honor Him. Pastor Chuck draws a compelling parallel between the thrill of competition and the deeper, more meaningful pursuit of honoring God in everything we do—win or lose. Whether you’re chasing victories in sports or facing challenges in life, the reminder is clear: true success isn’t about the outcome, but about how we honor God along the way. Tune in for an encouraging message on the value of honoring God, regardless of the highs and lows we encounter.
Hey everybody, and thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast. You know, the Old Testament writer in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 30 says this: "But now the Lord says, for those who honor me, I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed."
Wow, that is a mouthful. "But now the Lord says, for those who honor me, I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed."
You know, one of the things that I've always enjoyed in life is competition. Because competition produces winners and champions and folks who, well, lose and aren't champions. There's something fun. There's something challenging about it all. All types of competition does that. And with that comes awards and honors.
When we compete, honor is not our goal. Our goal is to win whatever it is. If you're in a fishing tournament, catch fish. If you're in a football game, to win the game. If you're in a foot race, to win the race. But when we're honored, no matter what it is that we're competing at, it feels pretty doggone good.
I mean, I've had times when I've lost and I've felt like crud, and I've had times when I've won and I've felt like I was on top of the world. There's something healthy about all of that. And I really do agree with the fact that we should try to honor God in all that we do to have success. And it doesn't matter whether we won or we lost.
I love it when you see the athletes who give all the glory and honor to God when they win, but then they're silent when they lose. And I think to myself, God teaches us as much when we lose as God does when we win. The question is, are we willing to learn from him in both cases?
But think about what today's verse says: God will honor us. That alone is like, wow, with a capital W. I cannot think of anyone I'd rather be honored by than the God who hung the moon and the stars, the God who spoke the world into creation, who spoke me into creation, who said, let there be light, and there was light.
And the rest of this verse is even more remarkable. I've never despised God. It is amazing that even the ones who do despise God are not despised by God. They are lightly esteemed. This shows God's love and mercy and his goodness to mankind.
Honor God today and watch him honor your life, my friend. This is one of the things that I love about the Lord. He loves us all, and yet he draws close to us even when we are heartbroken, when we have felt like we've lost, because we can't make him not love us. But for those that honor him, he says he will honor.
Today, my friend, don't go out to honor for the sake of believing that that causes you to be a winner, but go out and know you've won because God loves to honor you.
"But now the Lord says, for those who honor me, I will honor." What a wonderful and glorious thing. So let us love him today because he first loved us.
