WednesdayReflection

  2^nd August 2023

Jessica Van Roekel offers

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Ways to Humble Yourself according to the Bible

For two Sundays in a row, I've walked into the "Welcome Visitors" sign in our car park. It hasn't moved, but I move toward it like a magnet. Our society values strength but disdains weakness, so we hide reminders that we are not always strong.

To humble yourself runs counter-cultural to our modern age. Our modern age places a high priority on individual rights and privileges. But humility, as the Bible explains, is the opposite of what our society praises.

Humility reconciles us to God. We see that we cannot save ourselves in our own strength, perfection, or good works. We need humility to receive God's saving grace and mercy:
It is God who works in us to bring us to a place of repentance, but we need to receive it in humility. Humility is not denying our gifts and talents. It is not walking around afraid to be bold. It is so much more. It is the way we relate to God and others.

You know how we like to hide our weaknesses or never admit we're wrong, or that we made that awful decision years ago? Humility means remembering how God redeemed us and made us whole and right before him because of Jesus.

Humility does not feel a right to better treatment than Jesus received. Yes, people flocked to his ministry, but in the end, his humbling acceptance of persecution and betrayal with eventual death led to glory - the resurrection over death and reconciling us to his Father.

As Jesus-followers we're called to declare the praises of his kingdom and to tell others about the great love of the Father who sent his Son to die for our sins, so that we might have everlasting life.

We need humility to assert this truth in service to Jesus as we love others, not our own ego. A humble heart that remembers its own need for saving, paves the way for others to recognise their own need for God's saving grace.

It's hard to hear God when we stand tall and proud declaring, "I can do it myself."
But we need him. This life holds troubles that vary in intensity based on the seasons of life we find ourselves in.

God gives us wisdom and he directs our steps. We need to recognise our need for him in every aspect of our lives and to come humbly to receive his grace, strength, and power for living.

Obedience plays a part in humbling ourselves. It teaches us that we don't always know best, but as we lean in and listen, we learn from him. Sometimes he nudges us to give up a habit, or start a new one.

But when we lean into his grace and say "yes", we grow in our faith. He works in us as we depend on him to fulfill that "yes".

Prayer is a powerful way to humble ourselves. Humbling ourselves through prayer opens the door to God moving on our behalf. We can pray throughout the day as well as having a specific time to pray.

One way to really bring humility alive in our hearts is to bow, kneel, or lay face down on the floor and pray. Lowering our physical bodies turns our hearts towards emptying one's self and laying aside our desire for glory.

Gentleness towards others is another way to humble ourselves. In the midst of living this life, we will grow annoyed with people. In those times we can remember that God made them on purpose, for a purpose, just as he made you and me.

When we live humbly, with the awareness of our own weaknesses, we are able to be gentle with others in their weaknesses.

When we face trials, humility preserves peace in our soul. We don't have to wonder how we're going to handle this trial because we know that God is God, and we are not.

He holds our past, present, and future in his hands. When we humble ourselves before him, we recognise that he holds the answers to our questions.

Humility enables us to serve one another without thought to our own reputation. Humbleness leads us to go places that might make us uncomfortable. We remember our own need for the Lord which drives us to tell others about his amazing and wonderful grace.

As we take Jesus' yoke upon us, we learn from him. We see how he loved others, and how he obeyed his father. He is our example of a humble servant whose desire is to please his master. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. We learn his ways and seek to please him.

This life, wholly humbled and sanctified, opens doors to wisdom and knowledge that help us make the right decisions. Humbling ourselves helps us remember that overcoming problems does not rest on our shoulders.

Humbling ourselves before the Lord helps us remember that we need him. Needing him invites him into the inner parts of our hearts where much of our Christian growth takes place.

God gives grace to the humble.
And I don't know about you, but I need a great deal of grace. Life is hard.
Humility plays an important role in the Christian life.

God gives us ways to humble ourselves, so we receive his grace for living in the moment of our days.

Bible references avaiable, on request

Jessica Van Roekel loves the upside-down life of following Jesus as she journeys to wholeness through brokenness.
As an author, speaker, and worship leader, she uses her gifts and experiences to share God's transformative power to rescue, restore, and renew.
She longs for you to know that rejection doesn't have to define or determine your future when placed in God's healing hands.
Find out more reframingrejectionbook.com
You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

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