Job 19:9
He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
At one point, Job was the one everyone looked to as an example. He was the one that business leaders came to for advice on how to run a business. He was the one that people came to for spiritual advice. He was the one that parents would come to ask advice on how to train children to do right. Job was the one who wore the crown. However, the crown was taken. He did not lose the crown because of sin, but because life took it. He never knew that it would be the greatest of life’s calamities that would take the crown from him. He likely never thought about losing the crown. Job could have wasted the time that the crown was no longer on his head, or he could take this time and use it to help others. Though Job did not realize it, God took this time in Job’s life to help others who endure difficult times.
Has the crown been stripped from your head? Are you the one who once led people but now is being led? At the writing of this devotional, I have several former pastor’s wives in my congregation, and some men who used to pastor a church. What I love about most of them is that they have not let the stripping of the crown cause them to stop serving God. Most of them lost the crown because a spouse went to Heaven or their health has caused their life situation to change. Let me give you some help on what you should do when the crown is stripped from your head.
First, accept that you can’t change the crown being gone. The impact your life makes while the crown is gone will determine the impact of what your life did while wearing the crown. Many who used to follow you are watching what you do when the crown is gone. You will either validate what you taught or justify their compromise depending on what you do when the crown is stripped. If you do right, you validate what you taught. If you quit serving God, you justify compromising to those you taught.
Second, don’t sulk about the crown being lost. You can either become bitter that the crown is stripped, or you can accept it and use your life where it is to impact others. If you sulk over the crown being lost, you will become a bitter person. You cannot change what life has brought your way through death or bad health, but you can make the most of where you are by training others. Likewise, you cannot change that sin is what stripped the crown, but you can make the most of your life from this point forward.
Third, use the experience of the crown to help those with the crown. You know what it is like to wear the crown, so help the one who is wearing it to make the most of their time with the crown. You can be a great help or a great hindrance depending on how you handle the crown being stripped. You can make the most of your life if you will help the one who is wearing the crown because nobody knows what it is like to wear the crown like the one who used to wear it.
Fourth, use the experience of the crown to train others to have a crown. You cannot change that life has taken the crown from you, but you can use that experience to train others to one day wear a crown. Instead of wasting the rest of your life, use your experience to train others to wear a crown and you will get to enjoy the fruit of watching them wear a crown.
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