“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.” (1 Pe. 5:5-7)
In seeking grace before God’s face, humility is to be desired above all things, because God only gives grace to the humble. God either resists us or boosts us. The choice really is ours. We need to replace the false humility of a martyr with the true humility of a child of God who grasps how much we have at our disposal because all that we have is His.
The Lord placed this parable on my heart to describe the kind of humility He is looking for. What if my husband and I were to go to another country into the mission field where we didn’t need to keep our house, cars, etc. Assuming everything was paid for, what if we decided to bless the socks off of another family and give it all away to them. Of course it would be a fantastic time of rejoicing for all of us; for us, because it is so great to be in a position to bless, and for them, because it is great to be blessed! However, what if after several years we returned to find this couple living as if they were where they were because of their own effort and expertise? What if they had forgotten that all they had was purely due to our blessing and grace? If we had had foresight, we would not have exalted them in the first place! Well, Jesus has that foresight, and He sees perfectly into the heart of man. He will not, cannot, exalt those who fail to remember the source of their well-being! He will not lose one of us to pride; therefore, He cannot pour out His gracious blessing until we remain grounded in true humility.
We see this message in the life of Joseph. God showed Joseph how He purposed to bestow unheard of, undeserved merit upon him so that Joseph could be an instrument of blessing and salvation to God’s people. It was as if Joseph could not help but be puffed up with “look at me” self-importance. He then went through several waves of prosperity and pits until God trusted he would not take credit for the abundant provision and wisdom that Joseph could now wield. The same applies to us. Until we take our eyes off the multi-colored cloak of self-importance and fix them on Him, (coram Deo!) we can’t be trusted to wear the royal robe of authority and privileged blessing as the King can set us over His Kingdom. All that He has is ours!
Adapted from the Coram Deo Secret
http://www.marisarickerson.com/coram-deo.html
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