Today’s Verse:
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” —Luke 14:11
Your Challenge: Embrace humility in an all-about-me world.
Today’s Devotional:
We’re born navel gazers, prone to elevate ourselves to the position of most important—every single one of us. Our sin nature comes with a gravitational pull toward pride, the polar opposite of humility. An all-about-me world seems to celebrate the path of pride at every turn. That’s a problem, a big one because . . .
For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. (Ps. 138:6).
And . . .
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
Oh, and . . .
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt. 23:12)
True revival cannot happen without humility, for it is our humble acceptance that we aren’t the most important (and that we aren’t calling the shots) that alerts us to our deep need for Spirit-filled revival.
Several years ago, I parked in Revelation 4 and found myself enrolled in humility boot camp. This chapter describes Jesus in His throne room in heaven, with heart-stopping descriptions like:
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind; the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!” (vv. 6–8)
As I read and re-read these words over a period of weeks, these questions bubbled up in my heart:
Where is your throne?
Who is worshiping you?
I’m not even in the throne room. Not a single eye of those four impressive creatures is turned in my direction. All eyes are on Jesus, the only One truly worthy of worship.
Humility comes when we see our rightful place before a righteous God. Mercifully, revival is the sweet result. Today, set aside some time to pray, asking the Lord to humble you and to humble His Church so that we might experience revival.
Look Up: Seeking Him in Praise
Spend time considering Christ in His throne room as described in Revelation 4. How does seeing Jesus worshipped in this way dethrone your pride?
Look In: Seeking Him for Our Own Hearts
How has pride numbed you to your need for God? Ask Him to expose pride in your life and teach you to respond to Him and others in greater humility.
Look Out: Seeking Him on Behalf of Others
Boldly ask the Lord to expose areas where pride has a foothold in the Church.
Reflect and Respond:
- Download the PDF “Proud People vs. Humble People” here.
- Set aside time to pray through this resource, asking God to expose areas of pride in your heart and life.
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