COURAGEOUS HUMILITY

“O Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way”.  If you are of a certain age, you can hear Janis Joplin warbling these words in your head right now.  She was right about the first part.  It is hard to be humble.  It’s very, well, humbling in fact.  Recently I’ve begun seeing great examples all around me.  I’m sure they’ve been there all along, it’s just recently I’ve begun paying attention is the most likely.   You might use certain words to describe these examples.  Once upon a time, I think I would have used different words.  The words I’m using now are “Courageous Humility”.    I have discovered something I think is very, very important to living a successful Christian life.  You absolutely must be humble before the Lord, and to do so takes tremendous courage!

Jesus made a very definitive statement to His disciples that left no room for private interpretation or misunderstanding.  He told them, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”  Hmmm.  Not “you can do very little, you can do only some things.”  No sir, He said NOTHING!  Apart from – away from, WITHOUT Jesus, we can do NOTHING.  That is a humbling thought, especially if you are a type A personality used to doing things and getting things done!  What?!?!  I can do NOTHING?!?!?!  That’s what He said, that’s what He meant.  Anything truly worth doing cannot be done apart from Him.  His power, His will, His inspiration, His spirit working in and through us! HUMBLING!!

Later, no one really knows for sure how much later, speaking through Paul the Apostle, it was revealed by the Holy Spirit and recorded in Philippians 4:13, “I can do ALL things through Christ Who strengthens me.”  WOW!  That is a bold, courageous statement!  To speak such a thing takes a courage of conviction.  Not even, “through Christ I can do almost everything, or most things.”  NO!  Paul courageously declares that through Christ, as we humble ourselves to His will and allow Him to have His way in us, we can COURAGEOUSLY do everything, all things that are to be done.  Paul doesn’t even couch it in “christianeze”, as in, “through Christ, I can do all things the church needs/wants done, or the bible tells me to do.”  With the courage of his conviction that Christ is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and that He truly does live His life through us when we are “born again”, Paul declares that through Christ we can do all things.

Courageous Humility takes on different forms in different circumstances.  Turning the other cheek when appropriate to a situation.  Going the “extra mile”, feeding the hungry when they aren’t terribly thankful, visiting the sick, who can be very cranky depending on the sickness, visiting those in prison isn’t a “fun “ Saturday activity.  It takes a courageous humility to do the things Christ instructed us to do.  Proof?  You want proof?  How many Christians do not heed Jesus’ words to be “witnesses unto me in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth” because of fear?  They are scared to speak of His love and grace!  How can that be?  Yet many are afraid to speak out.  Speaking out the Gospel of Christ is one of those things we can only do “through Christ Who strengthens us” by courageous humility.

Happy FEARLESS HUMBLING to you from Turn the Tide Ministries!