HUMILITY( STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS )
The whole idea of Christianity is to be like Christ. Apostle Paul said that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. A Spirit of Humulity precedes the knowing of Christ . To know Christ is to love him,to be submissive to him and His will. It is God who works in us both to will and to do of this good pleasure. But it is up to us to allow God to work in us. Jesus said in Mathew 20:26-28: Whosoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant …..just as the Son of Man did not come to be served ,but to serve,and to give His life a ransom for many”
Selfishness and pride are the two things that stand against our goal of being like Jesus. God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble. Selfishness and pride serves the I in me. Jesus came to destroy what the I could do by showing us His way of living “Not my will Lord,but thine only.” {Luke 22:42}
Humulilty is not what we can learn from “How to do” books on humility. But is something that God alone can do.Feeling humble is not humility. Having a low self esteem is not Humility. Humility is an inner strength knowing that God is a God of his Word and that his word always comes to pass. Humility is not denial of self. It is an embracing of Christ’s life within you where you lay aside your personal wants and needs and adopt His desires and goals for your life. A humble spirit accepts God’s word without doubting . It is the arrogant spirit that tries to find his own way apart from God. “Christ humbled himself by being obedient to death on the cross.”{ Phillipians 2:5-8}.Paul tells us that Jesus chose to be humble and become a suffering servant so that we could have eternal life. That was God’s plan for Christ. However Peter and the others could not understand God’s redemptive plan . Peter fought against it.His words “God forbid it,Lord! This shall never happen to you”,were not from God,but was a result of yielding to Satan’s temptation . Pride and lack of humility will not only lead us to think differently than God,they also will lead us away from God’s will.
When faced with a situation in life like criticism, slander or many of the like ,we face a choice. Choice to react pridefully or choice to humble under the mighty hand of God that in due time he he will lift us up.(James 4:10)Circumstances can either build us or destroy us and we choose what we want with the circumstance we face. We should realize that God is a God over all circumstances and situation. We have Victory in Christ Jesus . And our Faith is our victory. So either let the circumstance make us humble under God and thereby letting God make us free or let our self take control . Apart from God there is always bitterness and strife. That’s why the Holy Spirit constantly reminds us not to harden our heart but be sober minded and alert for our enemy the devil is like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour.
Christ became a man leaving all his heavenly glory to redeem us because he loved us.But or God,the King of Kings to be humiliated by his own creation on the cross ,he needed a gift of humility.Jesus decided to clothe himself with humility so finally God the Father gave Jesus a name above every name that all creation would be subject to him.
Likewise to be like Christ we have to clothe ourself with humility. (1peter 5:5-7) What is our motivation for pursuing the spirit of humility ---A greater intimacy with Christ ---A greater degree of wisdom ----A greater sense of blessing –personal and spiritual. ----A greater sense of doing God’s will, which leads to fulfillment and peace.
Why does God emphasize the idea of humility? ----Jesus cannot be Lord of your life is there is not a spirit of humility ----A lack of humility indicates a lack of fellowship with God. ----A lack of humility hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. ----Sincere prayer requires humility. ----Our relationship with one another suffer when we are not humble in our hearts.
By.Sis .Betsy George.
To Women's Ministries