Humility

By now it should be obvious that humility is a requirement needed in the Christian’s armoury which needs to be drawn upon regularly, for it pleases our heavenly Father when we are humble. But we must not mistake humility for weakness; it is strength in faith. It drives us towards our dependency upon our God and Father and away for our independence where we rely on our own abilities to get it done. The part which needs working out is God’s stamp of approval on what should or shouldn’t be done. We need to prove what is acceptable before our Holy Father, its through trial and error where this will be realized. But a good place to start would be to follow David’s example throughout his lifetime, whether he was tending the sheep, fighting off lions and bears, hiding in caves or sitting on his throne, his life was habitually about the will of God. He also had his weaknesses but who hasn’t got flaws; our failings teach us a lot about ourselves. When we stumble and fall we learn to appreciate the value of mercy in our lives. It’s God alone who has the power to forgive our transgressions which will keep us out of hell. But we need to learn this lesson well in every area of our lives. We need God’s mercy and He has offered it to us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.

If our focus is anything outside of the finished work of the cross it will be hard to find approval in what we do, we may be praised by men but not by God. Everything we are is because of our Saviours sacrifice and when we move from that mind-set we begin to skirt on the edge of that dark precipice which we could fall from. There are many lures which parole the gaping mouth of that abyss. And the attraction named “pride” has trapped many. But it can be avoided if we know what we need to be done. For example, we must first seek God’s will for our lives and the rest will follow the way it should. But when our eyes shift from our Saviours sacrifice and onto our own merits, we now open the trap door to pride and if not corrected we are not far from a fall. It then becomes our story and not HIS. God was “well pleased” with Christ’s obedience; let us never forget that in lieu of anyone of our achievements.  

Miraculously as I now reach the age of 51 and I flip through the chapters of my life, this is what I have learnt. Many proverbs now ring true to my ear; “a dog returning to its vomit”, although this obviously speaks of my sin concerning the obvious, things like wine, women and song; repeatedly erring in those areas of my life, with many other things interwoven into that equation whilst growing up. In hindsight, a journey I needed, to see the wood from the trees but not with Pride as my brother, but rather learning to understand Grace as she taught me a better way, God using His unmerited favour to shape my understanding. Pride does not acknowledge Grace but pats oneself on the back as it blows its own trumpet, crying out, “look at me, I was like that but now I am like this.” Pride is impossible to avoid when our gaze shifts from God’s mercy onto ourselves. The more I give this thought and the longer I look into the mirror the more I am convinced about this truth; “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Signing off

Tyrone