Here’s What Humility Looks Like…
When you think of humiliy, what comes to mind?
In our world, humility is not something often celebrated. We would rather be seen as powerful, influential, and competent. If humility is weakness, pride is strength. But is it, really?
Pride can feel good, but it can hold us back from who God made us to be. It makes us think that if we try hard enough, we can become good enough. If we’re doing great, pride makes our confidence soar. But if we’re going through a rough season, pride makes us sensitive to our failures. Pride links our worth to our accomplishments, and it prevents us from seeing who we truly are.
Humility helps us realize that we are not enough—but God is enough for us. Humility will often ask us to risk something. It might mean laying down our social standing, our reputation, our financial security, our sense of authority, or our expertise.
Surrendering our self-sufficiency, surrending our pride, lets us embrace God’s authority. And our God did miracles through Moses, established David as king of Israel, worked through Isaiah in the midst of chaos, publicly honored Mary, abundantly provided for Peter, and glorified Jesus by raising Him from the dead.
When we surrender ourselves to God, we allow Him to be glorified through us. Humility might cost us something—but it leads to abundant life.
So today, how can you humble yourself before God? Take a few moments and process what you need to lay down in order to draw closer to God within the upcoming weeks.
Blessed are the Persecuted
It’s not always easy to stand for what’s right—especially when someone makes fun of you, gossips about you, lies about you, or even abuses you because of your decision.
But when sharing the eighth of the beatitudes—a series of promises Jesus made about God’s Kingdom—Jesus offered some hope:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10 NIV
Leading up to this verse, Jesus had spoken unexpected blessings over an unlikely group: the poor in spirit, those who were mourning, the meek, those craving righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. Finally, He offered a blessing to the persecuted.
Jesus elaborated:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew ...