Bible Reading: Job 33; James 4:9-17
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:10 (KJV)
Pride goes before a fall. The world expects you to show off so that people can respect you but God expects you to regard others better than yourself. Philippians 2:3 (KJV) says: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
When you exalt yourself, you incur the wrath of God because everything is given to you by God. Thus, king Nebuchadnezzar, who built a mighty empire once exalted himself based on what he had achieved and God turned him to an animal for seven years until he recanted and gave glory back to God. The interesting part of that is that when he humbled himself and gave glory to God, what he had lost was returned to him. First of all, he got back his senses and became a man again, then his position was restored to him and all his aides were given back to him. (Daniel 4:30-37). If you have lost any thing on account of pride, please repent of your sin and ask for mercy and the God Almighty shall restore all you had lost in Jesus name. That is why the bible says in James 4:10 (KJV): “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
Similarly, a man of God once gave a testimony of how he was the interpreter for a General Overseer (G.O.) of his church and this went into his head such that one day, another pastor asked him to interpret for him and though he did it but was full of anger. How could a pastor ask him, the G.O’s interpreter, to interpret for him? He said when he finished, God spoke to him and asked him if he was now too big to interpret for his son and from that moment, he never heard from God again.
It took him a lot of fasting and prayer, seeking for mercy before God finally restored his ability to hear him again. So it takes humility, not only to be lifted but also to maintain the gift that you have.
To be humble, you need to do the following:
1. Examine yourself daily and confess any sin in your life to God. ( Luke 18:9-14).
2. Submit to authority, whether bad or good. ( 1 Peter 2:18).
3. Choose to serve others. (Matthew 23:11; 2 Corinthians 4:5).
4. Forgive quickly. Matthew 18:21-22). Forgiveness involves self denial. It is not insisting on our way and our justice.
5. Be thankful at all times to God and men. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
6. Speak well of others at all times without flattering them. (Ephesians 4:31-32) and
7. Actively associate with people of lower state than you. ( Luke 7:36-39). Resist the temptation of being partial to those with wealth or status.
Prayer point:
Father, give me the grace to always humble myself before you and men in Jesus name.