Posts tagged with 'humility'

Continuing through the Psalms

  • Posted on July 31, 2021 at 3:23 pm

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.  ~Psalms 25:8-9

God even instructs sinners. They don’t realize it at the time but when a person comes to know the Lord, I bet they can often look back and see various ways that God was leading them in decisions they made, places they worked, etc. He looks for those who have humble hearts that are open to Him and then He begins His good and perfect work.

I can hear someone saying, “I was proud when God found me.” Yes. You didn’t know the Lord and yet God could still see a heart that was sick and tired of life and ready for a new beginning. And so He lifted you out of the mire and revealed Himself to you.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  ~Psalm 51:17

Oh, to continue to grow in humility, to not have to have life constantly revolve around me and what I want, to keep growing in quick and absolute surrender to my Father, to be quick to repent when I realize that I have displeased Him or hurt one of my Brothers or Sisters.

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.  ~Psalms 25:14-15

Have you ever thought about the fact that you can actually be friends with your Master? You can. He desires a genuine relationship with you. Not one-sided where all you can talk about is yourself but one where you are willing to listen to Him as well.

Humility begins in the heart and then exhibits itself in how we treat those around us. If you struggle to hear God’s voice, I encourage you to look at your heart and see if it is full of pride or a genuine willingness to know what God desires and to follow Him in all things.

 

Photo by Anthony Intraversato on Unsplash

Learning from the Master

  • Posted on January 19, 2020 at 5:51 pm

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30

When you think of this verse, you probably focus on the rest. I know I have. When I am overwhelmed or the burden feels like more than I can bear, it’s a promise I want to claim. Yes, Lord, draw me nearer so I can find that rest You are talking about. Last week, verse 29 jumped out at me like it never had before: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” Wait a minute! Have I been focusing on the wrong words all this time?! God’s timing is always perfect so I expect that, in the past, I needed rest but now I need to see the gentle and lowly (or humble) side of Jesus that He desires to teach me.

Humility is hard. It is a constant dying to self and not always needing to be right. I think pride is one sin that everyone has in common and, yet, as Jesus’ followers, we are told to put on humility (Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 5:5). This is something that we choose to do which can require biting our tongue (until it bleeds if necessary) in order to hold back that hurtful jab or that immense desire to say “I told you so.” I do not excel in this area, but I am asking for God’s help. It doesn’t bless anyone when I have to have the last word or make sure my opinion is known when my friend just needs a listening ear.

If you want to become more like Jesus, you must study what He is like. The fact is that He was obedient to death, even the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). That is what true servanthood is. That is being gentle and lowly in heart. When we become like Him, we will truly find rest for our souls.

 

Photo by Spring Fed Images on Unsplash

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