Humility: Coming to God on His Terms
The way down is the only way up.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
We live in an upside-down world where humility is scorned and pride is revered. These false messages are constantly being thrown at us. And we, just like hikers who have lost our way, are no longer seeing the red marker on the tree that assures us that this is the right path. Somewhere along the way, our thinking took a wrong turn.
But because of Christ, we are not lost! Amidst our confusion and anxiety, we can hear a voice, suddenly louder than all the other voices, calling us back. This is God’s Word. This is grace. Do you hear it?
“But He gives more grace. Therefore He (the Spirit) says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:6-10)
God has left us a trail of grace that leads us back to Himself. It begins and ends with humility. Not the kind of humility that the world defines as “low self-esteem,” but a biblical humility. We are called to humility. We are commanded to be humble. Humility is an action. “Humble yourselves!”
Humility is stooping, lowering ourselves, bowing, acknowledging our sin with a contrite heart. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
Humility is praying, seeking the face of God, and recognizing ourselves as sinners before a Holy God.
“If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)
Humility is seeing the Lord high and lifted up and seeing ourselves as unclean and unworthy apart from Him.
“…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up… ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ ….And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’ ....And He touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” (Isaiah 6:1,3,5,7)
Be Revived!
I love where Julie writes, "...we can hear a voice, suddenly louder than all the other voices, calling us back. This is God’s Word. This is grace." How will you seek Him this week?
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15 Comments
6/8/2021 10:01:57 am
I love the imagery and analogy you used with the marked trees. I've always heard the compass analogy, and my husband and I tell my step-children repeatedly that they'll wander in life without reading the Word. So far, I don't think they've taken that advice, but I'm still praying. Great post.
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Julie
6/8/2021 11:00:27 am
God will honor your dedication, Ashley, to continue to point your children towards the right path. My husband and I love to hike and we are looking forward to taking our grandchildren one day and showing them the many truths that the trail holds. Lord, please give Ashley’s children a listening ear and an obedient heart to walk that path of humility.
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6/8/2021 09:48:27 pm
I so love a humble person. So why is humility so hard for us? Sigh. "The way down is the only way up." You speak truth here that we all need to be reminded of! Thanks, Julie.
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6/11/2021 07:32:00 am
Isn't it refreshing, Lisa, to meet someone who is truly humble! I love this quote by Julie —> "The way down is the only way up." Thought provoking!
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Julie
6/11/2021 08:35:05 pm
That’s so true that humility is a beautiful thing in a person. We do all kinds of things to beautify ourselves with makeup, clothes, hairstyles, yet that true beauty is the humility that we rarely focus our attention on. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.
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6/9/2021 08:49:34 am
Julie, thank you for this blessed and powerful lesson. Blessings.
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6/11/2021 07:33:03 am
This whole Bible study is so powerful, Paula! Thanks for joining us!
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Julie
6/11/2021 08:31:15 pm
Paula, God is doing something in my own heart each week through His Word. It truly is powerful!!
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I shared this passage just this week with my readers of my weekly devotional; but I wrote on it from the viewpoint of resisting the enemy. Isn't it awesome how the Word speaks to so many areas of our lives!
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6/11/2021 07:36:54 am
YES! Jerralea! I have always felt that when the Word speaks to me from so many different avenues of my life, the emphasis must mean I need to sit up and pay attention—it must be something I really need to hear. It happens to me quite often! I love this quote too! —> "The way down is the only way up." So much truth!
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Julie
6/11/2021 08:40:17 pm
That’s a good point. God has been teaching me that humility is so unnatural that I must constantly be looking for signs of pride and being deliberate in humbling myself…praying for humility. The last couple of weeks it has been on my mind daily.
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Julie
6/11/2021 08:41:58 pm
❤️
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