Lessons in Being Humble Before God......
James 4: 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up. (KJV)
As we bring the Devotional on James 4: 10 to an end, (it surely will not bring it to a close,) God continues to move in my life in ways we will see today as He has built strength and courage into my life through all the adventures, some sad, some hard, and some extremely difficult, yet He still is at work in helping me see daily and sometimes hourly that I need to rely upon Him 24/7.
I remember the first time that I became aware of how God humbles us to Himself, and that occurred to me the day I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I needed His cleansing, His forgiveness, His strength and of course, His courage. There was a lot that lay in front of me as He began to build this sinner, now forgiven and cleansed into the Man of God He intended for me to become from the beginning of time. There was a lot of work to be done. Much of it I never knew anything about until I encountered His life changing desires for me to be transformed and conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. A lot of work was in front of me. I would spend time alone with God just trying to get my mind around all He was doing in my heart. The new love He gave me for my beloved wife and children. The new love he gave me for her family and mine. This was the kind of love only God can produce and He had to shape me into the vessel that could not only contain His love but also pour through and into the lives of others in the not too distant future that was ahead of me.
In front of me lay Stroke, Quintuple Bypass Surgery and life threatening Cancer and all inside a four year period of time. I did not have any idea of how to handle any of these life changing events, But He did. In the back of my mind James 4: 10 would come to life in little doses. Then one day, it all came together, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up, and that is what He did. With each earth shattering event that occurred I would be down on my knees and He would be drawing me lifting me into His holy presence and calling me by name, reassuring me He was still in control.
Yes, over time this short little verse would become big and meaningful as I share with others this very first “memory verse” from a little plastic box given to me by a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord many years ago. The spiritual radiance of His gift still shines as I continue to go through the verses time and time again, always looking for God’s opportunity to bless my life along with others to whom He guides me to share these little verse cards with. Take a verse a day, even this one, and commit to memory how God over time builds us into His useful tool for the cause of Christ.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, guide us deeper into your Word even with little short verses showing us the way to a deeper more meaningful life in serving You this day and the days beyond. What joy there is in serving You! In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN!
As we bring the Devotional on James 4: 10 to an end, (it surely will not bring it to a close,) God continues to move in my life in ways we will see today as He has built strength and courage into my life through all the adventures, some sad, some hard, and some extremely difficult, yet He still is at work in helping me see daily and sometimes hourly that I need to rely upon Him 24/7.
I remember the first time that I became aware of how God humbles us to Himself, and that occurred to me the day I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I needed His cleansing, His forgiveness, His strength and of course, His courage. There was a lot that lay in front of me as He began to build this sinner, now forgiven and cleansed into the Man of God He intended for me to become from the beginning of time. There was a lot of work to be done. Much of it I never knew anything about until I encountered His life changing desires for me to be transformed and conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. A lot of work was in front of me. I would spend time alone with God just trying to get my mind around all He was doing in my heart. The new love He gave me for my beloved wife and children. The new love he gave me for her family and mine. This was the kind of love only God can produce and He had to shape me into the vessel that could not only contain His love but also pour through and into the lives of others in the not too distant future that was ahead of me.
In front of me lay Stroke, Quintuple Bypass Surgery and life threatening Cancer and all inside a four year period of time. I did not have any idea of how to handle any of these life changing events, But He did. In the back of my mind James 4: 10 would come to life in little doses. Then one day, it all came together, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up, and that is what He did. With each earth shattering event that occurred I would be down on my knees and He would be drawing me lifting me into His holy presence and calling me by name, reassuring me He was still in control.
Yes, over time this short little verse would become big and meaningful as I share with others this very first “memory verse” from a little plastic box given to me by a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord many years ago. The spiritual radiance of His gift still shines as I continue to go through the verses time and time again, always looking for God’s opportunity to bless my life along with others to whom He guides me to share these little verse cards with. Take a verse a day, even this one, and commit to memory how God over time builds us into His useful tool for the cause of Christ.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, guide us deeper into your Word even with little short verses showing us the way to a deeper more meaningful life in serving You this day and the days beyond. What joy there is in serving You! In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN!
May God richly bless us as we continue to seek His will and His way, through His Word.
Have a Great Day!!
In Christ,
Rev. Ted J. Wilkins
Founder/Director of “Good News Brief For Men” Ministries
© Copyright 2015, Ted J. Wilkins, Good News Brief For Men.
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