“So give yourselves humbly to God.“
–James 4:7a tlb
As a human, I think being humble is way out of our natural reach. Not only is it not part of our wheelhouse, it is definitely not a comfortable fit. When we think about being humble, our minds say yes and our lips do too. But in reality, as much as we try to grapple with humility making it who we are, we fall far short.
For the minute we think we have wrapped our arms around being humble, is the exact moment that pride—like yeast percolating in dough—puffs up within our hearts. We are so comfortable with pride that we have come to accept it as part of being human. Why then does it matter to the Lord that we give ourselves humbly to Him? Because when we do, God can work mightily in our hearts.
Recently, pride made itself known to me when I was asking the Lord to do something, not for me, but within my heart. When my prayer was greeted by silence I began to squirm. It didn’t take long before I realized my motive was off kilter as these questions came to mind—Am I asking God to change me so I will feel better about myself? Or could it be that I want to look good in other peoples’ eyes?
God was loving me when His silence followed my prayer. He was waiting patiently for me to come to the place where I would see my motive as He sees it, and with that, the impoverished state of my heart.
He does that for all of us. When you think about it, coming face to face with what truly is going on in your heart is a gift of God’s grace. When you begin to understand how poor in spirit you are (see Matthew 5:3), humility can start to grow and blossom within.
“So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them true and pure to him. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, he will lift you up, encourage and help you.”
–James 4: 7-10, tlb
The words found in James 4 woven together with Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:3—“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” are wonderfully powerful. For when they take root in our hearts, we begin to realize that we can come to Jesus just as we are. It is here that the Lord scoops us up and says to each of us, I’ve got this. It is here that we begin to understand that when Jesus tells us to deny self, He wants us to come to the heart knowledge that self can do nothing apart from Him. Jesus is who we need.
Dear Jesus,
You live within my heart and You are my hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Please forgive me when I knowingly and unknowingly let pride guide me. Jesus, please shine through me so that everyone who knows me will want to know You! May everything about me please You. And Lord, cause me to fall more in love with you each and every minute of the day. Thank You, Lord.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Love,
Kimberly
