A Trustworthy Messenger

 

Many people don’t trust God to fulfill His Word by providing for their needs. They strive to prove their worthiness, and in the process, they look to themselves to fulfill their needs.

 

A genuinely humble person finds joy in recognizing that God is the source of everything good in his life (James 1:17). He may have worked hard for his money, but it is God who gave him the ability to earn it (Deuteronomy 8:18). You may work hard to be healthy, but it is God who fearfully and wonderfully made you (Psalm 139:14). You may be skillful in music, but God gave you that talent to bless and serve others (1 Peter 4:10). The world may encourage you to be a “self-made” man or woman, but you aren’t. God created you. When you allow Him to create through your life, He achieves His best in and through you. 

 

However, if you take credit for the best God accomplishes through you, you steal His glory and set yourself up for humiliation.

 

“I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8).

 

You can steal God’s glory by taking credit for what He has done, but you can also steal His glory by not humbly receiving the honor given to you for what He has done through you. Never downplay what you have done for the Lord. Just give Him honor and praise. Jesus never took God’s glory for Himself. He always stated His dependence on God and honored His Father. Jesus said God spoke through Him, and He only spoke His Father’s words.

 

“My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me,” Jesus said. ^“If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him”

John 7:16-18

 

Jesus didn’t speak His own message. He didn’t seek His own glory. There was no unrighteousness in Jesus. He gave God the credit. But He also didn’t deny what God did through Him—the dead were raised, the blind received sight, and the lame walked. He even cited those miracles as evidence of who He was (Matthew 11:4-6). You don’t need to discredit your accomplishments. But do you give God credit for them and acknowledge Him as your source?

 

Taking credit is pride, but so is downplaying what God has done. You basically steal His glory. Jesus never downplayed the miracles God did through Him. People asked Him where He got His authority, and He faithfully gave the glory to God. He was a faithful and trustworthy messenger of God’s message.

 

In Proverbs, you discover what is meant by being a trustworthy messenger (Proverbs 13:17; 14:5, 25;  25:13). A faithful and trustworthy messenger is true to the one who sent him. He doesn’t honor and glorify himself but represents correctly and reliably the one who sent him. An untrustworthy messenger is more concerned with his or her own reputation. If the message to be delivered will cause him hurt or discomfort, an untrustworthy messenger will revise the message to be sure it is well received. That is pride. He shouldn’t concern himself with how people will respond. A trustworthy messenger will just do what God says. He is concerned with God’s response and whether He is pleased. Praise the Lord for those who share God’s message correctly and reliably and aren't worried about how it is received.

 

What about you?  Are you a faithful and trustworthy messenger? Are you more concerned about God’s opinion than the opinion of men?  Do you seek God’s approval instead of the approval of others? Do you glorify God for His accomplishments and not downplay what He has accomplished through you?  Do you refresh your Master's soul?

 

Humility is balanced. It doesn’t elevate or deflate you. A trustworthy messenger is a person whose life is totally and utterly dependent on God. God is his source. He relies only on the One who created him.

 

 

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Depending on God

 

 

 

 

Have you been serving the Lord for years? I’m talking about everyone who ministers in the calling the Lord has given us. If God asked you, would you walk away from what you have built or have always done for Him?  Or are you dependent on its security?  Is He your desire or what you do for Him?

 

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

 

When you get right down to it, God should be your desire—not what you do for Him. He should be what you seek. Would just dwelling in Him be enough for you? 

 

True humility means being willing to leave everything behind if that pleases God. Humility exalts God’s wishes above its own and has no plans of its own. It is totally dependent on God. 

 

In Exodus 33, Moses asked God to see His glory. The Lord answered him: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).  In the next verse, Moses revealed his complete dependence on God by essentially saying, “Lord, if you don’t go with me, I’m not going anywhere!”  

 

God is humility’s source. Humility seeks Him. It recognizes it can’t do anything without Him. Pride, though, refuses to recognize its dependence on God.

 

“The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts: Psalm 10:4).

 

Many aren’t arrogant and boastful. They may think about God, but yet still don’t seek Him. They only seek Him when they have a problem or need. After exhausting all their options, they finally go to God. Most people do what they can and then depend on God to do what they can’t. While most people may think and function this way, it is not the Lord’s way. 

 

Where pride trusts only in self, humility trusts only in God. True humility depends on God and trusts Him to be who He says He is. 

 

In the fifth chapter of John, Jesus voiced His dependence on God: “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’” (John 5:19).“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30).

 

These two statements reveal Jesus’ unity with the Father. Jesus was so dependent on God that He could not function independently of Him. If Jesus was this dependent on God, why should we think we can do things on our own? Pride, whether from high or low self-esteem, keeps us from trusting Him. High self-esteem keeps us from seeking Him because we have the answer. Low self-esteem keeps us from seeking Him because we don’t feel worthy of His answer. Jesus knew who He was in God. Do you? 

 

You may be a born-again Christian and love God, but are you living without depending on Him? Are you a person who trusts yourself more than God or are you someone who has trouble trusting God because you believe He sees you as lowly and undesirable? Perhaps, you only go to Him when you have used up your last option or utterly fail. God is not a safety net. He is God. 

 

Is what you are hearing from the Lord? Be sure the voice telling you to do something is the Lord’s. If it doesn’t agree with the Word, it is not God. It is either the enemy stroking a puffed-up ego or your conscience condemning you. God is greater than the enemy stroking your high self-esteem or your conscience, reminding you how unworthy you are. Remember, high and low self-esteem are both forms of pride.

 

If the Lord has told you to do something, do it. Don’t ask for someone else’s opinion. Even if it looks like things may not work out in your favor, trust the Lord. Don’t be prideful and lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Trust God to be God and to work things out for your good (Isaiah 46:10, Romans 8:28).

 

When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and Peter said, “Lord, if it’s You, bid me come,” it was humility for Peter to obey (Matthew 28:29). It was humility for Peter to get out of the boat and walk on the water. Perhaps, you don’t see that as humility. But true humility is dependent on God and trusts His Word. Peter trusted Jesus’ Word. If God tells you to stay where you are, stay. But if God says, “come,” doubting His Word and not trusting His ability would be pride. It wasn’t Peter’s ability that allowed him to walk on water. He walked on water because He stepped out of the boat, trusting Jesus’ ability to perform His Word. It is humility for you to step out of your boat of false security and trust God.

 

Were you raised with a wrong understanding of humility? Was it wrong to ever stand out or draw attention to yourself?  If something good happened in your life, were you expected to deny it as a person who didn’t deserve it? Humility isn’t denying what God is doing in your life. Humility is acknowledging it. Humility is living a balanced life of dependence on God.

 

If you were taught to believe that humility is a self-condemning attitude and, as a result, rejected the things God called you to do, you need to repent. Humble yourself and allow God’s grace to change you. If you have been fearful and not stepping out and speaking your vision because of someone’s opinion, repent. The only One you have to please is God. 

 

God has asked you to do something beyond your natural inclination and ability. He has something that will bless those you love. Don’t allow pride to deprive those you love of their blessings. If God’s will is for you to be a janitor in a company, humbly accept it. If God’s will is for you to be the CEO of that same company, humbly accept that position. That is being a servant. That is humility.

 

You never acquire humility once and then maintain it for the rest of your life. Humility is a constant process of self-examination and fine-tuning your life. Always assess your life. You can be in pride and not even know it.

 

“And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).

 

We cannot get rid of pride without completely dying. We must deal with ourselves as long as we live in a body. We have to manage our tendency to live independently of God.

 

“For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge. He puts down one, and exalts another” (Psalm 75:6-7).

 

God exalts us. He instructs us to humble ourselves so that He can exalt us (1 Peter 5:6). When we exalt ourselves, we don’t trust God’s promise to reward those who serve “as to the Lord” or who first seek His kingdom (Ephesians 6:7-8, Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 6:33). When we devalue ourselves, we don’t trust God’s promise that He loves us enough to use us. Both these attitudes reveal a false belief that God is indifferent, that we cannot depend on Him, and that He won’t reward our humility. 

 

God is not indifferent to you! You can depend on Him! Know your value to God. There is no reason to prove yourself when you have nothing to prove. Daily, humble yourself and assess your thoughts. Do they agree with God’s Word and His assessment of you?  Trust His assessment and walk in the assurance of your salvation. 

 

 

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When I Lay Me Down

 

 

Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.

—John 15:13

  

God’s kind of love is different from the world’s kind of love. The world's kind of love is selfish. It seeks someone to fulfill its needs. That is not God’s kind of love, which lays its life down for another.

 

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).

 

What matters is the reason behind an act of love. You can give everything you have to help those in need, but it means nothing if you are helping them because it gratifies you. If your reason is not love, it profits you nothing.

 

God is love. Love is the reason God gives. Love is the reason He corrects us. Paul describes God’s kind of love: 

 

^“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

 

What many people consider “love” is void of the qualities listed in 1 Corinthians. God’s love is humble. Theirs is self-seeking and easily angered. It keeps a record of offenses. It is envious and arrogant. This is not God’s kind of love at all. If we love with God’s kind of love, we place others ahead of ourselves, and they don’t easily upset or provoke us (1 Corinthians 13:5). 

 

Proverbs 13:10 says that “by pride comes nothing but strife.” The only reason a person gives in to anger is pride. Strife doesn’t come because of what others do to us. It is the pride inside of us that makes us angry. You may be praying for God to remove someone who upsets you from your life, but God wants you to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-14). We must connect with others and unselfishly love like God.

 

God has given each person an intuitive knowledge of his Creator (Romans 1:18-20. He draws each person with His love. Since creation, Satan has tried to keep man from God’s goodness. He has caused some people to deny God’s existence and harden their hearts until they no longer recognize His goodness or His reprimand (Romans 1:28). Those who do acknowledge God, Satan tries to corrupt them with selfishness and pride.

 

This is what Satan did with Eve when he tempted her to eat the fruit of the tree in the garden. First, he told her a lie, “You will not surely die’” (Genesis 3:4). Then he got Eve to question God’s reason to keep her from eating the fruit of the tree. ^“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

 

“You can be like God,” Satan tempted. Scripture says Eve looked at the tree and saw it was “pleasant to the eye and a tree desirable to make one wise” so she surrendered and ate the fruit (Genesis 3:6). In a way, Eve’s desire was to be God, which is the ultimate pride. 

 

God’s love keeps Him from forcing His will upon us. He gave Adam and Eve the free will to choose Him, and we have the same choice. We can either humbly surrender to God’s love or live without Him. But if we remain independent of God, we forfeit the security of His blessings and grace. 

 

Pride controls the lives of those who believe God’s Word and standards have no merit. One day everyone who has upheld values opposed to God’s Word will stand before God and realize their folly. Those who have pridefully ridiculed the Word of God and His grace will be humiliated, admitting their wrong and realizing He is the Lord. 

 

All of us will come before God one day. If we respond humbly now to God’s love, we won’t face shame when that day arrives. Instead of disgrace, God will pour out His grace. We will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)! We won’t receive God’s grace because of what we have done. God doesn’t bestow grace because of our holiness. He gives grace in proportion to our humility. If we have humbled ourselves and put our faith in Jesus, we will enter into the joy of the Lord.

 

God loves humility and hates pride (Proverbs 6:16-19). Humility submits to God’s standard and depends on Him. And God’s standard is love. 

 

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:37-40).

 

When you love God and others, you do as Jesus commanded. But “loving your neighbor as yourself” does not mean overlooking their sin. You care enough about yourself to take care of yourself. You are to care for others in the same way. When you know that the Word of God is truth, and you don’t share it with others, they will receive the consequences of their sin. That is not love.

 

Never beat someone up with the Word of God! God’s love does not demand obedience. It offers a new life. When you have God’s love, you hate what evil does to people so much that you are willing to experience discomfort and speak God’s truth. If I don’t alert someone to danger I know is coming, I love myself more than I love them. I am more concerned about being at ease with them than their life.

Love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:6-7).

 

God’s kind of love speaks the truth, protects, endures, and goes the second mile. There is no greater love than to lay down our lives for others. 

 “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11).

The Word of God stands forever. The plans of His heart are for everyone. They just have to believe in Him. We are Jesus’ hands and feet. When I lay me down—when I humble myself to share God’s love in word and deed, His love never fails. 

 

 

 

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Agree with God

 

 

One side of pride is taking credit for everything you have accomplished. The other side is false humility, where you think you will never accomplish anything significant for God. Both attitudes devalue your life.

 

True humility agrees with God and submits to the authority of His Word. If the Word says we are the righteousness of God and can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (1 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 4:13), it would be prideful to disagree with it. If the Word says that God will supply all our needs and whatever we lay our hands on will be blessed (Philippians 4:19, Deuteronomy 28:8), it would be prideful to disagree. If the Word says Jesus has given you authority over all the enemy’s power (Luke 10:19), it would be prideful not to believe it. You cannot do any of these in yourself, but you can do everything God calls you to do. Agreeing with God’s Word and submitting to its truth is humility. 

 

However, many Christians don’t allow the Word of God to stand in the way of what they believe. They don’t submit to its authority. 

 

David may have been called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), but he was also a paramount sinner. If you were to grade the degree of David’s sin, his would be one of the worst. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then, to cover it up, murdered Uriah, her husband (2 Samuel 11). 

 

There was a time when a young David never would have contemplated this sin. Saul was pursuing David to kill him. When the opportunity suddenly arose one day for David to kill an unsuspecting Saul, David humbly refused to seize the occasion to kill him (1 Samuel 24). However, later in life, David’s successes as king inflated his ego. David should have been on the battlefield, fulfilling His duty as king, and not bored at home watching a beautiful woman bathing. But David did as he wanted. And he wanted Bathsheba.

 

Why would someone with such pride be called a man after God’s own heart? When Nathan confronted David about his sin, David immediately repented (2 Samuel 12). He responded without hesitation.

 

Compare this to Saul’s response to the Lord’s reproof in 1 Samuel 13. The Israelites were heavily outnumbered when facing the Philistines in Saul’s second year as king. When Israelites saw their overwhelming number, they fled in fear, but Saul waited seven days—the time set by Samuel. When Saul didn’t see Samuel coming, he took matters into his own hands and unlawfully offered a sacrifice. Samuel arrived just as Saul finished.

 

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

 

Although Saul’s sin doesn’t appear as terrible as David’s, both men still sinned. But unlike David, Saul didn’t humble himself and repent. In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel told Saul to destroy all the Amalekites and to let no person or animal live. But Saul did not obey the Lord. Saul let Agag, the king, live and kept the best animals for himself. Once more, when Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience, instead of humbling himself, Saul argued with the prophet and made excuses for his actions. Because Saul refused to obey the Lord or humble himself when his sin was confronted, Samuel said the Lord had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23).

 

Saul fell to the ground, grabbed Samuel’s robe, and pleaded with him: “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God” (1 Corinthians 15:30).

 

Do you hear the pride in Saul’s words? He had just lost God’s recognition and approval, but his words reveal that he only cared about what the people thought of him. He desired their approval before he desired God’s. While pride always seeks the favor and recognition of men, humility always seeks God’s approval.

 

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isaiah 57:15).

 

Our Creator, the “High and Lofty One,” dwells with the humble and fellowships with him. With a humble heart, you know you don’t have to prove yourself to God. You have peace in your relationship with Him because Jesus proved you to Him. God’s grace is not dependent on you. It is not based on your good or bad deeds or how much you love Him. It is based on His unreserved love for you. David sinned horrendously, but he humbled himself and received the grace of God. 

 

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (James 4:6). 

 

God’s grace is unconditional, but it is proportional to our humility. If God gives more grace, He also gives less grace.  If the Holy Spirit reveals pride in your life, whether from high or low self-esteem, humble yourself, repent, and receive more grace.

 

“A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23).

 

Surrender any pride. It will only humiliate you. Humility will honor you. David surrendered his pride when he didn’t kill Saul in the cave and immediately repented when Nathan confronted him about Bathsheba (1 Samuel 24, 2 Samuel 12). God honored David’s humility.

 

There is no need to prove yourself to God. You don’t need to exalt yourself. On the cross, Jesus exalted you and approved your value to God. God created you. He knows your hunger for acceptance, approval, and love. And His love alone fulfills this hunger. You are chosen. You are called. You are justified. God has given you His glory (Romans 8:30). 

 

“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

 

You can’t walk with God unless you agree with Him. Don’t devalue your life with pride. God valued you with His humility. Humble yourself and value Him. Believe you are chosen, called, and justified so pride will no longer try to justify you. God honors your humility. He gives more grace, more favor, to the humble. 

 

 

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The Heart of Humility

 

 

There is a danger in thinking too highly of yourself, just as there is a danger in thinking too lowly of yourself. Thinking too highly of yourself inflates your opinion of yourself, and thinking too lowly makes you question if you are worthy enough to receive God’s love. Have you known someone who thought so lowly of himself he constantly feared he could never please the Lord?  Perhaps you have known someone who thought so highly of himself he determined his way was the only way and walked away from those who truly cared for him. 

 

Both of these are pride. You can have pride that is from high or low self-esteem. True humility doesn’t exalt or demean self. It doesn’t have an opinion of self. It doesn’t need man’s approval because it has God’s approval. True humility only desires to glorify the Lord.

 

Some people think that humility shows weakness. Jesus may have described Himself as “meek and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29), but He was far from weak and timid. There is power in humility. Jesus came against the religious leaders—those empty “white-washed tombs” and “vipers.” Twice, He drove people out of the temple in righteous anger (Matthew 21:12, John 2:15).

 

In Numbers 12:3, Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote that he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Would you know or admit it if you were humble? 

 

“For who makes you differ from another?” Paul wrote. “And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it’ (1 Corinthians 4:7)?

 

Humility recognizes that everything you have is from God. God exalts those who are humble (John 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6), and those who are humble will let God exalt them. The proud don’t seek His approval. They are too anxious about what others think to be concerned about what God thinks. The prideful seek praise by either pointing to their accomplishments or demeaning themselves. Neither one is humility. When Moses wrote in Numbers 12:3 that he was the most humble man on earth, it was not Moses’ evaluation of himself. It was God’s evaluation. If Moses hadn’t agreed with God, he would have exhibited pride.

 

Paul wrote, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

 

When thinking about ourselves, Paul said we are to think soberly. He also wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3, NIV). 

 

This verse doesn’t say that others are better than you. What it tells you is to place the correct value on everyone. We are each unique and designed for God’s chosen purpose. In the Kingdom, no one is of less value than another. The differences between us make us more valuable to God. No one is just like you. There is nothing wrong with recognizing your God-given abilities and acknowledging what God has done through you. Just be sure you always give God the glory and acknowledge Him working through you and others.

 

A story in Luke 18 concerning a Pharisee and a tax collector shows that prideful people have trouble honoring others and God.

 

“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess’” (Luke 18:11-12).

 

In Matthew 6:15, John instructed His disciples not to pray like hypocrites who pray to be seen. In Luke 18:11, Jesus said this Pharisee “prayed thus with himself.” This prideful man was so full of himself that he was not communicating with God, just with himself! He was only concerned with proving his good deeds, hoping God would hear him. We should never pray like this man. Our prayers aren’t meant to impress people. They are the way we connect with God.

 

Nothing we do impresses God. We should never use our good deeds to induce the Lord to answer our prayers! He owes us nothing. But some ask, “Why hasn’t God answered my prayer?  I pray. I attend church. I pay tithes.” God isn’t interested in our religiousness. He is interested in our hearts. We can’t come to God on our own righteousness or goodness. Each one of us has fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23). We can’t earn righteousness, holiness, healing, provision, or any of God’s blessings. They are God’s gifts. We must approach God just as the tax collector did.

 

“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner’” (Luke 18:13)!

 

The tax collector didn’t try to prove or justify himself to God. He didn’t list all his good deeds. He humbled himself and raised his eyes to heaven. In Luke 18:14 Jesus said this humble man went home justified in God’s eyes. 

 

We have something this tax collector didn’t have. Jesus hadn’t yet gone to the cross. Now, Jesus has justified us to God. Our relationship with Him has been restored. We have no reason to prove ourselves to God, as the Pharisees tried to do. We receive humbly what Jesus has given and walk in the assurance of our salvation. We know God gives more grace to the humble and wisdom to those who ask.

 

There is true humility and false humility. True humility honors God as its source and honors others more than itself. It is where you walk in the assurance of your relationship with the Lord without experiencing the highs or lows of self-esteem. True humility realizes everything good in your life is a gift from God. False humility is nothing but pride. Its source is self, craving recognition to prove its worth. False humility seeks its own. It is puffed up. It pretends to be humble to receive praise. 

 

The heart of humility is honoring God. God honored you with the gift of His Son’s life. True humility honors Him. God loves the humble. He wants His children to think of themselves correctly and exercise the measure of faith He has given them (Romans 12:3). 

 

*******

 

Lord, I can’t justify myself to you. Praise you, precious Jesus, you have justified me! If I humble myself, trusting in your mercy and grace, you hear my heart. I can come confidently to you knowing that when I pray your Word, you hear me, and having heard me, I have what I have asked of you. You answer the moment I ask, Lord. I don’t need to see your answer with my eyes to believe I have received it. You produce your promise in me, Lord. I can’t create a thing. 

 

Lord, help me not to make my relationship with you difficult. If I will listen, you are always guiding and encouraging me. Reveal when pride is becoming an issue. It only frustrates and hinders me. I believe your Word, Lord. When I don’t believe your Word, I let pride come into my heart. I will keep humbling myself and sowing your Word in my heart even when my mind can’t grasp it. I will agree with you without question or doubt. 

 

Thank you, Jesus, for being so merciful to me. I choose you. Help me always walk in the assurance of my salvation, honoring you and others above myself.  I am at peace in your perfect work of grace because I have no peace or perfect work of my own. 

 

Amen

 

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The Right Response

 

 

Many Christians place trust in themselves before they trust God. They put their opinions and experiences above God’s Word. They look to themselves instead of looking to God. As a result, they struggle to believe. Since they have not given their worries to the Lord, they have trouble receiving His care. They get weary. Pride traps and keeps them from experiencing the benefits of God’s grace.

 

Our words reveal what is in our hearts (Matthew 12:34), and our words will either vindicate or condemn us (Matthew 12:37). The Lord knows when we are full of conceit and pride. Yet He is gracious (Psalms 145:8). He does not treat us as we deserve (Psalm 103:10). 

 

Pride is full of jealousy, bitterness, and anger. It does not produce righteousness (James 1:20). Pride declares that the end justifies the means. But a good outcome is not so good when a morally bad thing is used to achieve it. God grants us time to accept His grace, repent, and humble ourselves (2 Peter 3:9). But a time will come when God will judge our pride (Hebrews 10:30).

 

Job discovered this truth. Job lived around 2200 BC. He was a man of integrity who followed God even when no law required it. Job feared God and rejected evil. He was wealthy, but in just one day, his wealth was taken away, and his children and many of his servants died. And then painful boils covered his entire body. 

 

When Job’s friends heard of his plight, they came to ease his pain. They sat and grieved with him for seven days. Finally, Job opened his mouth, emitting the bitterness and anger in his heart. He cursed the day of his birth and wished for his death (Job 3). Then Job’s friends responded, not easing his pain at all.

 

“Bad things don’t happen to good people,” they said. “Your own sin has brought all this adversity on you.”

 

“If I’ve sinned,” Job responded, “show me my sin. I don’t know why this is happening. I’m innocent.”

 

The advice of his friends only caused Job more grief. During their back-and-forth conversation, Job began to question and doubt God. He went from “I don’t understand why this is happening to me” to “God is not fair to me, and there is no benefit in serving Him.” 

 

Job 32:1 says that Job’s friends stopped answering him because Job was “righteous in his own eyes.” 

 

When God finally spoke, He did not explain Himself or answer Job’s questions. He only addressed Job’s foolishness. In chapters 38-41, God reminded Job who He was and who Job was. 

 

“Where were you when I formed the earth? Do you measure it? Who shut the sea in? Did you bring forth the stars? Do you know where light resides? Does the eagle soar at your command? Can you pull in a Leviathan with a hook? Do you give wisdom and understanding?

 

“Of course, Job, you know everything because you were born before it was all created, and you are so very knowledgeable! (Job 38:21). If your righteousness is so much greater than mine, do what I do! Clothe yourself with excellence and glory. Cast forth your anger! Behold the proud, bring him low, and put him in his place!” (Job 38:21; 40:10-12).

 

It is God who brings the prideful low and exalts the humble (1 Peter 5:6).  

 

Look at Job’s response. 

 

“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (Job 42:2-3,5-6, NLT).

 

Humility and repentance are the right responses to God’s correction. Job humbled himself and repented, and God exalted him by restoring everything Satan had stolen. 

 

Look at the responses of others in the Word to the glory of God. Each time they saw His glory, humility was the consequence.  When Isaiah saw the Lord, he repented (Isaiah 6:5). When God spoke to Abram, he fell on his face (Genesis 17:3). When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, Moses hid his face from God’s glory (Exodus 3:5-6). When the angel appeared to Joshua, he bowed to the ground in utter devotion (Joshua 5:14). 

 

If we ever genuinely see God’s glory, we, too, will humble ourselves and lose all conceit and pride. 

 

When faced with adversity, we don’t need to go from “I don’t know why this is happening to me” to “God is not fair, and there is no benefit in serving Him.” Pride keeps us from experiencing the blessings of God’s grace. God exalts those with a humble heart—just as He exalted Job when he repented. 

 

God, whose glory was once hidden from us because of our sin, sent His Beloved Son to become our sin so we could be justified and glorified in Him (Romans 8:30). For those who believe in Jesus Christ, God no longer judges us from without. Jesus has justified, glorified, and humbled us from within. Disgrace may come with pride, but grace and wisdom come with humility (Proverbs 11:12). God gives more grace to the humble (James 4:6) and wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). 

 

What shall I say to these things (Romans 8:31)?  How can I not respond in true humility to the Lord who humbled Himself for me? 

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/08/the-right-response.html

 

The Direction of Your Life

 

 

 

 

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks,” Jesus said (Luke 6:45).

 

The images we have in our hearts about ourselves are revealed in our words, and our words form and direct our lives.

 

“The words of your mouth snare you; You are taken by the words of your mouth” (Proverbs. 6:2).

 

People who always speak of their want, who continually talk about their sickness or hardship, are snared by their words. If my words will snare me, I would rather be snared by words of life than those of lack, sickness, and adversity. 

 

You are not limited when you have a vision of God’s abundance. You are not limited when you have a vision of His promise of good health. You are not limited by opposition when you have a vision of God’s favor. You are not limited by the curses of your past when you have a vision of God’s new life.

 

You can change the direction of your life but it has to start in the abundance of your heart.

 

What do you see in your future? What is your vision for your life? For your marriage, family, prospects, and health? If you have a negative image in your heart, you will speak it, and your spoken words will fulfill it.

 

To change the direction of your life, you must change what you see and say. The woman with the issue of blood had a vision of herself healed. She said, “If only I touch His garment, I will be made whole.” That was the image she had in her heart, and she spoke it. Her faith drove her to action. She touched Jesus’ garment just as she had seen in the vision in her heart. And Jesus told her that her faith had healed her.

 

What image drives you? Meditate on these verses if you wish to change your life’s direction. They deserve your response. 

 

…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18).

 

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:20-21).

 

This precious child might have seen herself as limited, but she chose not to. Her image of herself will continually drive the direction of her life. 

 

Only you can change the direction of yours.

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/07/the-direction-of-your-life.html