Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my eyes up to you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, for you are my help and my hope.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:8-10 NKJV).
I watched the news and the stories of people who were affected ny Harvey, Irma, and the earthquake in Mexico. As I watched people battle the storms, to struggle to survive, to press on and persevere, you remind me to draw near to You. You remind me to humble myself before You, so You can lift me up. You remind me to remember You. Because apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5).
To humble ourselves is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. It's the opposite of pride, which says I can do all things in my power, in my wisdom, with my resources. Pride says, "I will survive; I will thrive; I will restore; I will rebuild, all in my way, all as I will, all by myself." Humility says, "I need You, Lord; I'm desperate for You; apart from You, I can do nothing; and I praise You, that I never have to be apart from You, for You are my Help and my Hope."
Pride, in this sense, is an unholy independence from You, manifested in rebellion from Your presence and rejection of Your ways. But humility, in this sense, is a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord to honor You, embrace You, and desperately depend upon You to be our provision and protection, our loving Father who always knows what's best and who is always near and always ready to help through whatever we endure. So Lord, slay our pride and give us humble hearts, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
It's a heart of humility that will fill our hearts with hope. And hope is what we need. Hope in You alone is what we need. And hope is what we will have if we humble our hearts to hope in You. "Now may the God of hope fill (us) with all joy and peace in believing, that (we) may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13 ). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, as you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon Him alone, allowing Him to lift you up and bring you through whatever you're enduring, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
Gary Liederbach-Lead Follower
One Direction Community
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