God Lifts the Humble

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I believe God lifts the humble

Genuine humility is hard to come by. Most of us think we are humble just because our circumstance has made it so. We feign humility towards others because we need favors from them, or they are our bosses.We live in a world where if you don't assert yourself, you seem to lose out. In order not to lose out, we do a number of things to prove our worth. We want to be noticed, we want big titles that people know and can recognize. We are scared that no one will notice us. A mentor I respect once told me that the only title I should be is me.

The question is, how do we stay humble and not lose out? We are told that Jesus knowing who he was, where he had come from and where he was going, he washed his disciples’ feet. Whatever he did, those facts were not going to change and he didn’t have to explain himself as he washed the feet of the twelve men who had been practically walking the whole time. Just as Jesus knew himself, his origin, and his destiny, true humility is only possible if we also have an idea of who we are, our origin and our destiny.

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The four issues humanity grapple with are origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. Our level of understanding of these issues affects how we view & treat those around us and in turn how we conduct ourselves around them. Humility is recognizing that which is true, God is God, and I am not God and that’s who I am and if he gave me a skill, he gave me a skill; if he didn’t, he didn’t. Humility isn’t thinking less about yourself but is thinking about yourself less. Not a lack of self-confidence. This I believe is possible if you are on a journey of discovering where you come from, who you are, and where you are going?

We have experienced people who go to greater lengths to prove to us that they are the ones in control, they are in charge, without them we are useless. They do a lot to smear it on our faces and to continuously remind us lest we forget that we cannot do without them. This is dangerous if the person is involved in some sort of a leadership position. If you find yourself as a leader always reminding people who you are, then there is a problem. The problem could be with the people you are leading or with you. In most of the experiences I have heard, the problem mostly is always with the so-called leader who is occupying a position. “Leadership is the mature use of power to enable self and others to achieve higher goals.” Leadership Development by Barr & Barr

I believe God is looking for the humble to lift them up. He is looking for the secure, confident and humble people; those who are using the power they have maturely to bring out something grander for others to see His glory. God called David a man after his heart because he had a heart of humility. David was the actual Giant when facing the oversized bodied Goliath. David knew where he came from, he understood what that moment needed and that there was a higher power at work in his life. It wasn’t about Goliath; it was about who David represented.

Many times in our efforts to prove ourselves to people, we build up walls that make it hard for God to work in our lives. It’s like my 3-year-old struggling to prove himself to me. As his earthly father, I believe I have been around longer than him and as such I know somethings better than he does. So it is ridiculous and stupid of him to keep working so hard to prove himself to me. Most times we are like that to God. He wants to lift us up but since we are not willing to let go who we believe we should be to embrace who we are, we fail to connect to what God is trying to do in our lives. We don’t allow ourselves to be seen as we are so we can move to the next level of influence; where God wants us to be. He wants us to go to him as we are, not as we should be. I like these three questions thanks to GiANT WORLDWIDE:

                                            i.            What are you afraid of losing?

                                          ii.            What are you trying to hide?

                                        iii.            What are you trying to prove? To whom?

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These are very sobering questions that if we continually ask, and attempt to answer, we may find ourselves in the journey of humility with God. I invite you to think of these questions whenever you are dealing with others or even when it comes to your walk with God.

If this resonates with you, seek humility. Look for a small community of friends who you can do this together with… Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It’s about building a community of friends to share each other’s journey of walking humbly with God.  You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create a support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.

Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…

By Gabriel Achayo.