For years we have been sold a humility that is weak and inactive. I have seen countless people in the business world completely destroy humility as an asset because they believe it stops you from stepping into your fullest power. We have been sold a less attractive type of humility that strips you of confidence and renders you inactive and makes you indecisive and insecure, which is far from what Jesus embodied and the definition of humility. Humility is total dependence on God. It is the core of our relationship to God and the very thing that will maintain the purity of our connection with God. Humility is not a fruit of the spirit but rather the access to the fruits and gifts the Holy Spirit has to offer us. Humility is who you are to God at all times.
We see a perfect description of true humility in John 5:19. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus was committed to only doing what God required of Him. He had committed His life to God so much so that His only pleasure was found in living in total submission.
Walking in humility also means walking in the authority Christ has given to us but remembering where our help and strength come from to sustain what we have received from God. Looking at Christ, though He was the man of sorrows on the cross, He lost nothing even when He gave God everything, even to the point of death. He gained the right to sit at His right hand because He humbled himself before God.
You might ask how we can practically live in humility, so check out these 6 tips below:
1.
Make a wilful decision to be an empty vessel that Jesus fills with His glory. Instead of trying to operate without Him, which equates to pride and not humility, recognise your need to depend solely on Him.
2.
Choose to consult our Father in Heaven in all things (John 5:30).
3.
Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Learning only to voice what the Father leads you to.
4.
Consider others as greater than yourself. If you are in any leadership position, in your church community or at work, choose to be a servant. “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:2).
5.
Let God lift you up and show you off to the world.
6.
Living in Jesus and His word offers us a more real, lasting life and one that conquers pride. We don’t just have humility. We become it by beholding, praying, having the faith to receive it and arising to the higher call when an opportunity to be prideful comes.
The beauty of our walk with God is that we have access to His all-powerful grace. We don’t have to be humble by ourselves because we have the spirit at work in Jesus Christ working in us. The secret of Jesus’s life, the humility and meekness He walked in, is the very way He could be all things to all men. This was how He could love unconditionally and reach all sectors of people. Christ Himself was humble; therefore, humility is a part of our inheritance we cannot afford to lose. The need for humility is great, as we live in such a prideful and self-reliant world. The beauty is that, what Jesus shows us, He also gives. What He is, He also imparts into us, so there is grace to be lowly and meek just as He was on the cross of Calvary.
We charge you today to let God examine your heart and expose how you have tried to live life without Him. Ask Him to search your heart and show you where you have been living for yourself. May we all return to our knees, humbly resting before our Father daily for more.
Words by Mazino Malaka
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