He Saves The Humble

Psalm 18:27; James 4:6b

ESV

“For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.”

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

The root of all other evils begins here: pride. That is where it began in the garden of Eden, and so it continues to this day and thrives off the weak, desire-hungry heart of man. Even as Christians our hearts are still so weak without the strength that God supplies us. We cannot defect to our human abilities and preventative measures if we want the life God has designed for us. We are not strong, we are not able, we are not competent. Where we misunderstand those facts, we fall. We are opposed, and we are brought down. We are nothing without the grace of God. Everything we are and become in our relationship with God comes from His hands. Emptiness lies on the other side of pride. Destruction is the end of a haughty spirit. Promises cannot be expected to be fulfilled if our hearts are full of pride over what we've done and what others aren't and we are.

Humility is where pride ends, and the true life begins. This has to be the most difficult things for me to master. Not a day goes by where I'm not growing and learning in this. Bitterness is the most common result of the pride I fight. For a long time I could never understand why my heart was in such a dark place throughout the day, and only recently Jesus revealed that I had roots of bitterness which had gone so deep. The devil had been masking it by telling me I wasn't doing something right in my walk with God. Now it is true that I wasn't, for I wasn't cloaking myself with humility and arming myself with the mind of Christ. But the Devil made it out to be that I wasn't working hard enough for God, that I wasn't being good enough, repenting hard enough, or loving others enough. I wasn't doing enough, he said. So I went on day by day with downcast soul, crying to the Lord to free me from whatever was causing this in me. God showed me that it all began with pride, and it will all end with humility and forgiveness. Humility is so contrary to my human nature, especially in forgiving and asking forgiveness, but I know that since Jesus did it, so must I. He bowed the knee to wash the feet, so must I. More than this though, I need my feet washed by Him. My feet have wandered so far, for so long, and I must begin at the throne of God to receive His grace and tender mercy. Jesus wants our hearts completely, so He can replace them with His, and we will live just like Jesus.