Growing Humility Uprooting Pride
Growing Humility Uprooting Pride. Scripture tells us to choose the way of humility rather than pride. It tells us that God favors the humble and humbles the proud. Jesus even came to give us an example to follow. His whole earthly life was, from first to last, a wondrous showcase of profound humility. He emptied Himself and took on our humanity, was born in humble circumstances to poor parents, associated with the lowly, washed feet, and was buried in a borrowed grave. We are told that is the example that we are to follow. Yet, if we rely on our own ability to act with humility, we immediately fall into pride. So, how is this to happen?
Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier! We are called to respond to God’s grace, not to be the source. When the Lord told Peter to put his nets out on the other side after he’d fished all night and caught nothing, it required an initial act of humility to respond to a carpenter’s advice about fishing. Yet, when His grace-filled Peter’s nets to the point of tearing with 153 fish, he grew in humility, even falling at the Lord’s feet and asking Him to depart, confessing his own sinfulness.
When we experience suffering, powerlessness, and insults, we can turn in fear to reliance upon ourselves, but that will ultimately lead to anxiety, shame, and feelings of disconnection from the Lord, ourselves, and others. That only fuels the vicious cycle as our fear increases and around and around we go. However, if we respond to suffering by sending our roots more deeply into God’s love for us, it is readily apparent that He is the one to rely on, our hearts are lifted in gratitude to Him, and we experience a sense of intimacy with Him.
We can have confidence – literally being ‘with faith’ when that faith is in Him rather than ourselves, knowing that His power is able to do anything, even though frail instruments like ourselves. He is all-powerful and loves us more deeply than we can ever imagine.
May the Lord give you peace!
Margaret
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