Do You Qualify? The 5 Prerequisites for Promotion

Feeling like you’ll never move to the next level in life? Find out if you’re meeting the prerequisites for the promotion you’ve been dreaming of.

READING TIME:  8 MIN

Are you living the same day over and over again?

Maybe it seems like you wake up and carry on pretty much the same way every day, without any exciting changes or life-altering increase. Yet, you have stirrings, dreams and visions for what you want in this life. And you keep waiting for your breakthrough—your tipping point.

Here’s the deal…

You are the tipping point.

If you’re feeling stuck, it’s because you were made for continual promotion and advancement in this life. This year should not look the same as every other year. Increase in your job, finances, ministry or family should regularly be occurring. But you have to own your part in seeing God’s supernatural promotion.

It’s time to skip the middleman and start getting promoted quicker, easier and beyond what the world says is possible. Instead of waiting around for something to change, trying to make our own way, or convincing the world to promote us, we need to make a way for God to move.

As Gloria Copeland says, “You must be worthy of being promoted. You have to give God something to work with.” You must qualify.

Your promotion is within reach. And it’s in your hands. It all starts with working to live by these five prerequisites for promotion.

Prerequisite No. 1: Have a Servant’s Heart

“Truly I am your servant, Lord.” –Psalm 116:16 (NIV)

When you’re focused on promotion, you’re focused on yourself, right? It can be tough to shift the focus off your own dreams and desires and over onto others, but that’s exactly what you need to do to qualify for a BIG promotion from God.

Gloria Copeland says, “Promotion begins on the inside. Having a servant’s heart is vital to your promotion.”

Joseph went from the pit to the palace by serving his master, his prison master and his fellow prisoners, and more importantly, his God. He could’ve spent time thinking about how he had been given a dream by God, what a hard worker he was, and how he deserved promotion, but he didn’t. He had a servant’s heart, and that’s why he enjoyed one of the greatest promotions we see in the Bible.

David is another model example of how to receive life-changing promotion. He began at the bottom—a lowly shepherd boy. No one had high thoughts of him or big plans to advance him in any way. In fact, in the world’s eyes, he was nothing special.

He had seven brothers who were all seemingly better looking, smarter and more qualified. God chose to promote David, in part, because he had a servant’s heart. He served his father and King Saul faithfully, in spite of the mistreatment and continual attacks on his life. More importantly, he served God.

His servant’s heart opened the door—and kept it open—for a life-changing promotion from shepherd boy to king.

What can we learn from Joseph and David’s servant’s hearts?

1. They remained faithful and honorable in the lowest of positions. Even when God told them their true destinies, they didn’t resent not arriving there instantly.
2. They were not impatient about being promoted. They kept their focus on serving others and honoring God.
3. They didn’t give up or become weary in well-doing.

If you are not where you want to be today, or maybe even far from it, do not despise where you are. It’s in the dry and hard places that your promotion is secured. Keep moving in the will of God, and the will of God will promote you.

Prerequisite No. 2: Humility

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” –James 4:10 (NKJV)

Having a servant’s heart will require humility, but walking in humility goes far beyond that. If you want to be promoted in your job, finances, ministry, family or any other area—all pride has to go.

You may be thinking, I don’t have a problem with pride. Keith Moore has this to say to you: “If you don’t think you have trouble with pride, you’re confused. You have flesh, don’t you? Then you have pride to deal with.” Pride is something every single person has to combat. But make no mistake, you must combat it.

Watch Gloria Copeland and George Pearsons talk more about humility as a prerequisite for promotion.

Pride isn’t just an unkind attitude—it’s a dream killer. It will rob you of everything you’re believing for and halt your miracles (James 4:6). That’s why the enemy wants to tempt you into it (it’s what caused his fall, after all). He knows he can devour you when he can get you to be like him—proud, defiant and rebellious.

You qualify for promotion when you work on having a humble spirit. In fact, the Bible tells us to be “clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5, KJV). This isn’t a one-time deal, either. It’s a daily effort.

What does humility look like?

Humility thinks of others first.

Humility is content behind the scenes.

Humility doesn’t push its way to the front.

Humility willingly submits.

Humility graciously receives correction.

Humility makes adjustments.

Humility doesn’t ruin an apology with an excuse.

Humility expects nothing and appreciates everything.

Humility accepts responsibility and doesn’t shift blame.

Humility is easy to live with, work with and be with.

To get to this place, as Keith Moore says, “Pride has to die!” If you think you can do this on your own, that’s pride, too. You need correction. If you can begin to see correction as a gift, you’ll be on the expressway to humility.

That means allowing God—and even people—to correct you. Even if someone doesn’t handle it as delicately as they could, you need to learn to receive correction from people. When you don’t, that’s your flesh rising up and telling you to feed your pride.

If you want to see promotion in your life, ask God to help you become someone who lives and walks with humility. Gloria Copeland says, “Pride sets you up for a fall. Humility will set you up for honor.”

Prerequisite No. 3: Diligence

“Diligent hands bring wealth.” –Proverbs 10:4 (NIV)

Just like humility, diligence is the door to promotion. You can’t qualify without it. Are you diligent?

 A diligent person is…

1. Conscientious in his work or duties
2. Industrious, hardworking, meticulous, thorough
3. Someone who does more than what’s expected
4. Dependable, punctual
5. Constant, stable, focused

Does this describe you? Are you meeting the prerequisite for promotion by being diligent?

The Bible tells us a bit more about who diligent people are and what they receive:

1. Diligent people are hard workers. Proverbs 10:4 (TLV) says “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.” Prosperity and promotion come to the hard worker.
2. Diligent people thoughtfully plan. They aren’t hasty in their decisions, but think ahead and plan well. Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (NIV).
3. Diligent people serve great leaders. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you know a hard-working man? He shall be successful and stand before kings!” (TLB). Diligent people are not overlooked for long, and they end up in the highest places.
4. Diligent people are resourceful and care for what they have. This means they are good stewards! Proverbs 12:27 says a “diligent man makes good use of everything he finds” (TLB).Pastor Ricker Renner used to drive by the homes of associate pastors to inspect their garages. He felt he could see their hearts by the way they cared for their homes.
5. Diligent people become great leaders. Proverbs 12:24 says when you work hard, you will become a leader. That’s promotion! Joseph and David are proof of this truth.

If you want to be promoted in life, work hard. Be diligent as a Christian, a spouse, a parent, a friend, a financial steward, a minister and an employee. Get qualified for promotion!

Prerequisite No. 4: Faithfulness

“A faithful man who can find?” –Proverbs 20:6 (KJV)

Every prerequisite we’ve discussed so far is nonnegotiable. And so is faithfulness. It seems to be a lost art, these days, doesn’t it? Perhaps that’s why we don’t see people advancing when they should.

Remember David? He was the most faithful among all of King Saul’s servants. That’s what God is looking for.

Faithful people are located and promoted by God. That’s what happens when you live out the prerequisites for promotion. Promotion will chase after and overtake you!

Let’s look at the Bible characteristics of a faithful person.

1. Faithful people can be trusted by those they serve.
2. Faithful people keep a confidence—they don’t reveal secrets or go around talking about matters that should be kept quiet (Proverbs 11:13)
3. Faithful people are loyal. They don’t cheat, steal or abuse their positions.
4. Faithful people are truthful and honest. They don’t lie or bend the truth (Proverbs 14:5).
5. Faithful people are reliable and dependable. They show up on time, and they do what they say they will do (Proverbs 25:13).

Faithfulness is a prerequisite for promotion. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10, KJV). When you are faithful where God has placed you, He will know He can trust you with even more. “A faithful man will abound with blessings” (Proverbs 28:20, ESV).

Prerequisite No. 5: Integrity

“The just man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.” –Proverbs 20:7 (MEV)

Many people don’t realize the connection between integrity and promotion. Galatians 6:7 tells us we reap what we sow, so if you connect the dots, it’s easy to see: Sowing integrity will produce a harvest of promotion.

Honesty is valued highly in our society—it is a nonnegotiable with God. There is a greater demand for integrity from Christians because of who we represent. Second Corinthians 8:21 says, “We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.”

Your life is a letter anyone can read by looking at you (2 Corinthians 3:2). That’s what many believers don’t understand. We are being watched—read like a book. The world hears every word we speak and sees every action we take. Our lives are a testimony to the unsaved about who our God is, and we have a responsibility to represent Him accurately.

How important is integrity? Find out in a special story of integrity that impacted Kenneth Copeland’s personal life HERE.

To qualify for promotion, you must live your life with integrity—down to the tiniest detail.

How does the Bible define integrity? Psalm 15:1-5 breaks it down for us:

1. Live a blameless life. Do what is right, even when it looks like it could be to your disadvantage.
2. Keep your word, no matter what. Show up when you say you’re going to show up. Do what you say you’ll do. Give what you say you’ll give.
3. Do the right thing.
   1. Return things you borrowed (like rental cars) in better shape than when you got them.
   2.  Return excess change accidentally given to you.
   3.  Go back to pay the right amount when you were undercharged.
   4. Return the shopping cart to the proper place.
   5. Give your employer the full amount of work agreed upon.
4. Refuse to gossip or speak poorly about others.
5. Lend without charging interest.
6. Refuse to be bribed.

Learn more about How to Live the Psalm 15 Life HERE.

Sadly, it is a rare thing to see people with integrity anymore. That’s why so many people are stuck in the same place for so long. Those who will prosper will be those with the most integrity—those who are dependable. God has His part, and we have ours. Our part is walking in integrity.

If you’ve been waiting for promotion, developing your character and meeting these five prerequisites is key. Remember, it is God’s will for you to be promoted! As long as you are in line with His Word, you don’t have to fight, beg or beat the system. He will get you to the place you need to be.

Gloria Copeland and George Pearsons share about integrity as a prerequisite for promotion.

Related Articles:

A Story of Integrity From Kenneth Copeland

© 1997 – 2024 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. Aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries. All Rights Reserved.