Humility

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. Psalm 89:15-17

Developing a lifestyle of praising God is an exercise in humility. When we worship the Lord, we begin to see how big He is. A consequence of this is that we begin to see how small we really are in comparison. It follows that we will start to realize our need to depend on Christ. And as we continue to worship Jesus, we will begin to depend on Him more and more.

1 Peter 5:5b-6 says, “ 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” When we boast in our own accomplishments, when we look down in a condescending way towards others; we kindle the anger of God. The Lord says He opposes such behavior. But when we keep a humble heart, the Father bestows His favor upon us. He actually stoops down to lift us up.

The Psalmist said that God favored him so much the Lord exalted his horn. The word horn in the Bible often refers to strength. The Scripture is saying that as we walk in humility, God exalts us and strengthens us spiritually. The Lord wants to increase us, but the only way to become greater in God's kingdom is to recognize how poor we really are. Blessed are the poor in spirit. When we learn to humble ourselves, we are blessed. One of the primary meanings of the Greek word for blessed is to be happy.

The world teaches us to build up ourselves and take pride in who we are. We are told to rely on our own power. This is supposed to lead us to success and happiness, but many follow this path only to find emptiness in the end. God wants us to glory in Him. As we do, we will find his strength to succeed and His everlasting joy for the journey.

Let's cultivate a lifestyle of worship and praise to God our Father. Let's put on the gentle garment of humility. To do this is to cooperate with God and find His great favor.

Dear Father God,

Teach me to praise and worship you every day, throughout the day. Help me to have a humble heart. I believe as I walk in this manner you will lift me up in due time. No matter what your rewards are to me I thank you that knowing You is the greatest reward I will ever possess. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

© Copyright 2010 by Tom Toya. All rights reserved.