The Posture of Humility

Ahhhh, humility. I love that word. Yet so often, I am so far from it. For years now, I have seen the Lord showing me all the ways that pride rears its ugly head in my life. Ways that I never thought would indicate an attitude of pride, He has shown the light on those. It seems like every time I turn around, at the center of what I am struggling against in my sin: Pride is there. I read years ago a quote by C.S. Lewis that said in a nutshell, that pride is the center of all our sins. How true that seems to be!!

Yesterday at church our pastor (while teaching through Ecclesiastes 8) touched on the issue of pride. He talked about how the posture of our heart and life should be that of humility. What He said that really punched me in the gut was something that I hear in my heart often from the Spirit, but nevertheless it is always gut-wrenching: "God stiff arms the proud, but gives grace to the humble". Oh, oh, oh. How I need to remember that!! He reminded us that of all who we would want to stiff arm us, God is not the One we want to hold us at a distance. And if there was One that we wanted to draw us close and give us grace, it would be Him. And the real clincher of what my heart heard yesterday was this: When we say, about anything, "I just can't stand that anymore" or "I just can't take one more minute of __________ (fill in the blank)!!" When we say those things we have pride in our hearts, a posture that says, "I know better, I am on my own, I don't need You!!" When we say these things, we are trying to do whatever on our own. That is pride. It is at that time when we most need Him, when we CAN'T do it on our own!! It is then that we need to get down, on our face, in a posture of humility so that He can give us what we need most: GRACE, sweet grace!!!

Some days, many days I feel like I can't possibly listen to the whining of a little one a second longer, or discipline a child for an error, or count one more calorie or look at one more mess that someone else was supposed to clean up or even better, love that person who is seemingly unlovable today. BUT, I can do it, if I only I get into the proper posture, the posture that says,

God, I cannot do it for one more second on my own, but with Your grace and strength, I know I can do it a million more times!!!
In Jesus Name, Amen!!



#239 laughing with my kids
#240 one week nearer to the bathrooms being renovated
#241 lying next to my little girl, giving and getting kisses
#242 a comforting friend on the phone when I was having a hard moment
#243 that Norah's fever is past
#244 for a home
#245 for my husband's job
#246 that I can stand upright and not in pain like a woman I saw in the store
#247 chilly afternoon run with a friend
#248 a trip to the playground
#249 throwing the football with my hubby and boys
#250 that my mom and Marissa have texting
#251 for believers that pray, and keep on praying
#252 for hand me down clothes
#253 for a day to sort through the new seasons clothes and time to make sense in my mess of a laundry room!
#254 to be able to wear sweaters and sweatshirts again: IT's Fall!!
#255 for the peace that I have in knowing Christ
#256 because He first loved me
#257 a new set of sheets for my bed...from my mom.