Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6).
Pride is the chief doctrine of the devil; humility, the mark of the saint. When a man boasted in the presence of Joseph Parker, the preacher, that he was a self-made man, Parker commented, "Well, sir, that relives the Lord of a great responsibility."
In serving God we stoop to conquer; we bow down in order to be lifted up, for submission is the way to exaltation. It is in the plan of God to put down the proud sooner or later. "The Lord will destroy the house of the proud" (Prov. 15:25). The apostle Peter says, "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).
True humility comes from a true knowledge of ourselves and of God. As Phillips Brooks put it: "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is." And that is true. We do not know our littleness until we begin to realize God's greatness. As the old adage puts it: "a mountain shames a molehill until they are both humbled by the stars." It is under the mighty hand of God that we are to humble ourselves. When the Lord smites us, it is our duty and privilege to accept it with profound submission and thankfulness. It is a hard school, but it teaches precious lessons.
Notice that the Lord's exaltation of us is "in due time," and God is the only judge of the day and hour for that exaltation. We have not reached true humility until we can say, "Not only have Thine own way, Lord, but have Thine own time, Lord. Thy will be done!"
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble" (Ps. 10:17).
Pride is the chief doctrine of the devil; humility, the mark of the saint. When a man boasted in the presence of Joseph Parker, the preacher, that he was a self-made man, Parker commented, "Well, sir, that relives the Lord of a great responsibility."
In serving God we stoop to conquer; we bow down in order to be lifted up, for submission is the way to exaltation. It is in the plan of God to put down the proud sooner or later. "The Lord will destroy the house of the proud" (Prov. 15:25). The apostle Peter says, "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).
True humility comes from a true knowledge of ourselves and of God. As Phillips Brooks put it: "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is." And that is true. We do not know our littleness until we begin to realize God's greatness. As the old adage puts it: "a mountain shames a molehill until they are both humbled by the stars." It is under the mighty hand of God that we are to humble ourselves. When the Lord smites us, it is our duty and privilege to accept it with profound submission and thankfulness. It is a hard school, but it teaches precious lessons.
Notice that the Lord's exaltation of us is "in due time," and God is the only judge of the day and hour for that exaltation. We have not reached true humility until we can say, "Not only have Thine own way, Lord, but have Thine own time, Lord. Thy will be done!"
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble" (Ps. 10:17).
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