Welcome to the first Impact blog of 2020. I want to share a word with you, that if we live it this year, I believe we will experience a year of being used by God like never before. Today I want to look at the word humility. Humility is the state of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.. James 4 tells us that God resists proud people but gives grace to humble people. Humility is attractive and contagious. Pride is repulsive but unfortunately it is also contagious. Humility is mentioned 73 times in the Bible. I’m going to share just a few of the places in the Bible that it is mentioned.
Proverbs 3:34-35 says, “Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorned, yet He gives GRACE and UNDESERVED FAVOR to the low in rank, the HUMBLE, and the afflicted. I don’t know about you but I want God’s grace and undeserved favor in my life. Then 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God (set aside self-righteous pride), so that He may exalt you (to a place honor in His service) at the appropriate time.” God does the promoting not us. All we must do is humble ourselves and work hard. When we do this, God will do what only He can do.
Lastly, we find that 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “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.” Did you notice that God calls us to FIRST humble ourselves and THEN pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways? Humble means submitting to someone else. Being humble is to come under God’s submission. Submission in Hebrew means to lean down and lift in loving support. When we submit to God daily by leaning down, we allow God to lift us up in loving support. God wants to support us, but we must first humble ourselves.
Jesus chose to live a humble life so that we would know what it looks like to live in humility. All He needs from us as humans is a humble heart, not our idea of a perfect person. As people, we try to come to God in what we believe or strive to be “perfectly packaged.” I believe everyone that God has used and continues to use has simply chosen humility. It was proven time after time in the Bible how God loved to use imperfect people and I believe He still does today. Jen Hatmaker said it this way, “Humility comes only when I choose to be with Him and depend on Him instead of buying the lie that I am enough. Humility is a grateful and spontaneous awareness that life is a gift, and it is manifested as an ungrudging and unhypocritical acknowledgement of absolute dependence upon God. Humility reminds us of this truth. It says, ‘Relax. Your only hope is Jesus.’” Let’s choose to do a heart check today. Ask the Lord, am I choosing humility today? God isn’t looking for a perfect “package,” He is simply looking for a humble and willing person. It’s time we give up running our own life and put ourselves under God’s authority. Choosing humility daily will help us make great PROGRESS in our life this year.
Amanda Miller