And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12) It helps me to think of myself as standing on a mechanical platform that can be raised or lowered. This platform is located in a room with a ceiling. At times I may want the platform to be raised further, but my head would hit the ceiling. By crouching down, I accommodate more room for the platform to raise me higher. If I try to raise myself up without first humbling myself, my head will encounter immediate resistance from the ceiling. So too, God resists the proud. It is powerful to remember that there is a difference between me humbling myself and God doing it for me. The repeated promise of Scripture is that if I humble myself, God will lift me up. However if God humbles me, there is no such expectation. Knowing that God resists the proud and abases the self-exalted confirms to me that I will be humbled one way or another. I must choose to humble myself if I hope for any usefulness for God to come out of my moment of humbling.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 17:07:18 +0000