As I was preparing for my day the Lord spoke to me and said; when you take a step toward humility, I take a step toward you.
I knew the situation He was referring to, I was thinking about it even before I heard His voice that day.
You see, I had a couple situations come before me that required I put my agenda aside to sow into someone else’s agenda.
I had diligently searched my heart for a pure motive for this action. I chose to put my thoughts and feelings aside and be a blessing. It was after this that I heard these words from my Lord.
Humility is defined as; freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s own worth. Humility consists in lowliness of mind; and submission to God’s will.
Humility is often required to obey God’s will. There is no doubt about it. Humbling ourselves under His plan and His purpose, especially when it doesn’t seem to be beneficial to us, that is an act of humility.
I think it is telling that one definition is lowliness in mind. Lowliness is total freedom from pride. In other words, you have no prideful thoughts or ambitions. Humility must be part of your thought process, part of your mind.
Philippians 2:3-10 says; Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, through factional motives, or strife, but with an attitude of humility, being neither arrogant nor self-righteous, regard others as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus, look to Him as your example in selfless humility, who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God, as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes-the entire nature of deity, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted, as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it; but emptied Himself, without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity, by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man. After He was found in, terms of His outward appearance as a man, for a divinely-appointed time, He humbled Himself, still further, by becoming obedient, to the Father, to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, also, because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in submission, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (Amplified)
Jesus is our ultimate example of humility or a humbled heart and mind. He emptied Himself, the Bible says…of any thoughts that were not totally submissive to God’s plan and purpose. He wore humility and so should we.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Phil. 2:3
If we are to walk in humility we must prefer others over ourselves, we must put their advancement before ours at times. I love the verse in Philippians 2 that says, Jesus was not afraid of losing His right standing or His position.
He did not fear losing anything from humbling himself. I think we often feel if we prefer others over ourselves that we will lose some imagined position, that is not true. That is actually, the opposite of the truth.
The Bible says because Jesus humbled Himself, God exalted Him.
Friends, that promise doesn’t belong to Jesus alone.
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10
As I have said before, there is only one way up in God’s plan…and that is down. Humble yourself and He will lift you up.
Each time we purpose in our heart to take a step into humility, we are closer and closer to walking like Jesus walked.
Don’t be afraid to humble yourself, don’t fear putting others ahead of you, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The only way to be sure that what comes out of you is the word of God is to make sure that you are putting plenty of the word of God inside you.
