Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth. — Numbers 12:3
When I read this verse, I can’t help but think of all that Moses did. He was the man who led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, held the rod through which God parted the Red Sea, met with God on the mountaintop, carried the actual tablets of the Ten Commandments — though he later smashed them in a moment of anger — and even saw the back of God when he asked to see His glory. This man who knew God, who revered God, who got as close to God as he could get and still live was said to be humbler than anyone who walked the face of the earth. When I read this in Scripture, I tend to think that when we get that up close and personal with God, we truly understand that God is God, and we are not. We know the difference. And therein lies the key to understanding true humility.
Sometimes, in our effort to put the Word into practice, I think we mistakenly confuse humility with ideas of low self-esteem or thinking less of oneself. But being humble is not about putting ourselves down or projecting ourselves as less than we are or as knowing less than we do.
- Being humble is about recognizing how big God is.
It is about having a right view of ourselves in relationship to Him. It is about living with an awareness that God is God, and we are not. It’s about knowing who we are in Him: children of the King.1 Filled with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.2 It is about living in a divine tension of acknowledging that outside of God I can do nothing, but in Christ I can do all things.3
Do you see the difference? I want to walk humbly with my God. I want to be humble in everything I do. Honoring God. Acknowledging God. Trusting God. Walking with Him daily. Dependent on Him in every moment. Aware of how big He is and how it’s only in Him that I can be all He’s created me to be and fulfill all the purpose He has for me. I can endure with strength in faith until I step into eternity. Putting myself down will never achieve any of that.
The next time you start to put yourself down, catch yourself. Turn your thoughts to God and how big He is. Think of all you are in Him, of all you can do in Him. Find verses that speak of this and personalize them, saying them aloud to yourself and to God in that moment. It’s one more way we can continue to be transformed so we see ourselves the way He does, as someone created in His image. It’s one more way we can remind ourselves how big God is.
Heavenly Father, help me understand true humility and walk in it today. Help me see how big You are in every circumstance in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Excerpted with permission from You’re Not Finished Yet by Christine Caine, copyright Caso Writing, LLC.
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Your Turn
God never asked us to put ourselves down or think meanly of ourselves. That’s nowhere in the Bible. But, we are to walk humbly knowing that He is God and we are not. Today, let’s be reminded that we’re His kids! That’s how much He loves us. So, we can walk in God-confidence instead of self-confidence. ~ Devotionals Daily