A Kingdom Resume

A great way to strategically practice humility is to create what I like to call a “Kingdom resume.”

Traditionally, a resume is centered on our accomplishments and highlights our strengths.

But a Kingdom resume is just the opposite. It is centered on our weaknesses, trials and sufferings for Christ’s sake.

Apostle Paul’s Resume

The apostle Paul gave us his resume in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33.

Some of his qualifications for being a true servant of Christ were:

• Pain

• Weariness

• Going hungry

• Sleepless nights

• Abundant labors

• Shipwrecked three times

• Often imprisoned for the gospel

We might not have to face the exact sufferings Paul did, but we all have had situations in our lives that could be placed on our Kingdom resume.

A New Mindset

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul explained that he was given a “thorn in the flesh” in order to humble him so he would not walk in pride due to the great revelations God had given him. He begged the Lord three times to take this away, but the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

Paul was so impacted by the Lord’s words to him that he began to boast only in his weaknesses.

…Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The word delight in verse 10 means to “take pleasure, think good.”

Paul began to rejoice in his weaknesses, persecutions and difficulties because he understood that these trials would lead to greater humility and therefore a greater demonstration of Christ’s power.

God gives grace (power) to the humble (James 4:6).

Paul’s humility through his sufferings prepared him for his assignment to establish many churches, conduct the largest missions outreach at that time and write more than half of the New Testament.  

Making it Personal

I literally have a document where I record my weaknesses, trials and sufferings. I write down every negative and unpleasant thing that has happened to me. I do this because I know that these experiences are preparing me for the call of God on my life. I’m learning to take great pleasure in every trial I face, because I know God works them for my good as well as for the good of others.

When we learn to think like this, we transition from a defeated mindset to a victorious one.

What will you put on your Kingdom resume?