SURRENDER YOUR PRIDE
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.
James 4:7-10 (NLT)
What does it truly mean to be humble? Unfortunately, I think we often get it wrong. It doesn’t mean thinking of yourself as a doormat for everyone to step right over. The Hebrew word is anavah, which literally means to occupy your God-given space in the world. Creator God uniquely hand-crafted you on purpose with a purpose. You matter! We can’t shrink back and live to less than what He has called us to. This may seem on the surface to be humility, but it’s not. We also must be cautious not to become puffed up with pride, as we know that to do so leads to a calamitous fall (see Proverbs 16:18). Let’s live into the fullness of who He has crafted and called us to be! To do so, we must start with the proper perspective in our relationship to God.
In the passage above, James encourages us to humble ourselves before the Lord. When we do this, we are drawing near to Him. And when we do that, He will draw near to us. Part of that humbling process is having a brokenness over what has separated us from God in the past. All too often, we can be flippant, dismissive, or even amused. James encourages us to mourn our previous time of rebellion instead.
Theologian and author Tim Challies has this to say on the subject of humility: Is there any trait more odious than pride or more precious than humility? Is there any trait whose presence we so highly honor in others and whose absence we so readily excuse in ourselves? Truly, pride is the chief of sins and humility the highest of virtues. Yet the Christian has the joy of seeing the Holy Spirit put pride to death and bring to life the beauty of humility.
APPLICATION: How are you coming close to God? In what practical, day-to- day ways are you submitting and surrendering to His Lordship? If you can’t think of any, it may be time to really take stock of your relationship with Him. Pray through Psalm 139:23-24.
PRAYER: Lord, humble me. Even if that process is difficult or painful, help me to walk in your way. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Thank You for drawing near to me as I draw near to You. You are good and faithful. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?