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James 4: 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord,
and he will lift you up. (NIV)
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God, who must stoop to view the skies and bow to see what angels do, looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great.* |
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The thing about humbling yourself before the Lord is that
you can’t fake it. People can be fooled by our outward appearance. Some people
are good actors while others are gullible - and they make a good team. But
acting humble (or should that be “acting humbly”?) will not trick God into
lifting you up.
What does humbling yourself before the Lord look like? It
might look like repentance or obedience - but it also might not look like
anything. Many of us have mastered the art of humble actions while we still
struggle with inner rebellion. True humility is a heart attitude. Your process
will differ from mine because it is a personal encounter with God.
What does “lifting you up” look like? Just as humbling
yourself is a personal experience between you and God, lifting you up may very
well have no outward signs either. We should not assume that after we have
reached the optimum level of humility, we will then be carried across the field
on the shoulders of our team members. We all have to wait for our final reward, but I believe that God also
honors our humility in an immediate fashion by lifting us up to himself. That
is not something that can be detected by another human.
I read somewhere that you can’t go up one hill (be lifted
up) until you’ve gone down the one you’re on (humble yourself). It’s ironic
that going down the hill is much harder than going up.
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It is the paradox of religion that Jehovah’s holiness, which places Him at an infinite distance from human pride and greatness, brings Him near to the humble in spirit.* |
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