‘Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ Matthew 23:12 NLT
Paul had a prominent and far-reaching ministry, yet he said of himself, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ (1 Timothy 1:15 KJV) When people told Paul how great he was, he stayed humble by remembering what he used to be. If you believe God has called you, your response should be to bow down in humility before Him.
When the Angel of the Lord told an ageing Zacharias he would father a son named John the Baptist, Zacharias was struck dumb and froze in place, to the point where people wondered why he was taking so long. Ezekiel had a book in the Bible named after him. That’s heady stuff! Yet when God called him, he collapsed on the floor and God had to tell him to get up, saying, ‘Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.’ (Ezekiel 2:1 NIV) When John the Revelator saw Jesus standing in the midst of the seven churches, he wrote, ‘When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.’ (Revelation 1:17 KJV) Can you see a pattern emerging here?
Paul writes, ‘Walk… with all humility and gentleness.’ (Ephesians 4:1–2 NASB) Think about the phrase ‘walking with God’. Whose company are you in? God’s! Can you think of a higher calling? And the higher your calling, the lower you must become in your own estimation. Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking of yourself less. Jesus summed it up like this: ‘Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ Today, practise humility.
SoulFood: 2 Sam 17:14–19:43, John 3:22–36, Ps 89:38–52, Pr 23:19–21
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
