He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NKJV)

The question before us is, “What Does God Need?” We are continually bombarding heaven with our needs during this pandemic. Have we been so concerned about our needs that we forgot that God has needs? In Part One of this discussion, we discovered that the number one thing on God’s list of needs is obedience from His people. God requires and desires that His people would align with His ways and precepts.

Along with obedience, God needs HUMILITY. He needs His people to be humble. This virtue is so high on God’s list that He esteems everyone who submits to it voluntarily. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10 NKJV). Humble means to bring low, to depress, implying that it’s an attitude of the heart. We decide to bring ourselves low, to humble ourselves, to take ourselves off the throne. Where humility resides, there is no self-exaltation, pride, or arrogance. They are the antithesis of humility.

Remember, the world was thrown into chaos, corruption, and confusion due to pride. It was the pride of life that motivated Adam and Eve to disobey God and eat from the forbidden tree; thus, sin entered the world. Lucifer (now Satan) introduced this vice when he rebelled against God, purposing in his heart to exalt his throne above the throne of God. (See Isaiah 14:12-21.)

Rebellion is driven by pride, a sin that God doesn’t tolerate because it opposes His authority. God hates the appearance of pride. Proverbs 6 list, a proud or haughty look first among the six deadly sins. Psalm 101:5 states, “…The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.”

To guard against pride, we must humble ourselves. Numerous times in Scripture, God admonishes us to humble ourselves. This is the preferred way to attain humility. But there is another way, God can do it, which is humiliating and distasteful. In his book, Humility, C. Peter Wagner (Regal, 2002, 32) states, “When God has to step in and humble you, it is too late! It is much better to humble yourself as a part of your ongoing lifestyle, following the example of Moses.”

Numbers 12:3 states, (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

God led the children of Israel into the wilderness to humble them before He would allow them to enter the promised land. “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

Jesus taught His disciples an object lesson on humility when they wanted to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18: 2-4).

We can also learn a lesson on humility from other biblical characters that God exalted after they humbled themselves: Daniel (Daniel 10:12); Ahab (I Kings 21:29); Josiah (2 Kings 22:19); Solomon (2 Chronicles 12:12); Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:26), and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11-14). Throughout the Psalms, we can see where David humbled himself.

Other biblical characters didn’t humble themselves and suffered the consequences, such as; Pharaoh (Exodus 10:3), Amon (2 Chronicles 21:25), and Jezebel (2 Kings 9).

There are numerous passages in the Psalms and Proverbs that speak of the rewards of humility. Here are a few of them.

 

• “The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.” (Psalm 25:9)
• The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. (Psalm 147:6)
• Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34)
• When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
• Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Proverbs 16:19)

Yes, before we are exalted or receive the honor, we must be humbled. “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.” (Proverbs 15:33) “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility.” (Proverbs 18:12)

1 Peter 5:5 admonishes us to clothe ourselves in humility, that is, wear it like a garment. “…And be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Let’s revisit the question, “What Does God Need?” Obedience and Humility are near and dear to God’s heart and will keep us in good standing with Him.

Pray…

Lord, I am gaining an understanding of the things you need from me as one of Your children. Give me the grace and strength to obey all of your commands and to humble myself before You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Posted by on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 @ 12:02AM
Categories: Empowering, Encouragement, Inspirational