As
often happens, several authors have spoken into my life on related
subjects within the past few days. It started as I was reading The Fruitful Life, by Jerry
Bridges, which talks about the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). He
reminded me that the fruit is not something we can grow on our own,
but requires God’s work in us, and as such we have to humbly submit
to God’s will and God’s ways for this to happen. He writes:
“Humility in every area of life, in every relationship with other people, begins with a right concept of God as the One who is infinite and eternal in His majesty and holiness. We are to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, approaching every relationship and every circumstance in reference to him… When we are conscious of our (sinful) creature relationship to an infinitely majestic and holy God, we will not wish to selfishly compare ourselves with others. And to the extent that our awareness of our lowly place before God is an abiding one, we will avoid the temptations of pride and competition.”
Soon
after that I read this article by John Piper in which he says:
“Another way of embracing [God’s sovereignty] is to see that it is taught in the Scriptures and to see some of its implications and to admit that this is in fact the truth that the Bible teaches, but to embrace it with a heart that’s not fully docile or teachable or submissive to the whole counsel of God in Scripture. In other words, a person may be riveted on the doctrine of sovereignty while either being neglectful of other important biblical teachings, or maybe even indifferent to those other teachings or resistant to them.”
A
humble heart recognizes that God is sovereign and willingly submits
to all that means for each of us. I confess that there are areas in
my own life where my submission is reluctantly and grudgingly given.
I see that God is sovereign over all His creation, but I don’t
particularly like the way He arranges some things. So then today I
was reading Battle Ready, by Steve Farrar. He writes:
“Lon [Solomon]’s definition: ‘Brokenness is the process by which God dislodges our self-life and teaches us to rely upon him alone in every facet of our lives. Brokenness is the process whereby God crushes all our self-dependence and, in its place, substitutes an utter dependence on God and God alone in every area of our lives… Through brokenness, God replaces our self-will with a surrender to the will and timing of God, tempering our human zeal with a deep waiting upon God.’…
“God doesn’t meet our demands to explain Himself. God doesn’t submit Himself to our cross-examinations. He tells us that He is good and righteous, and then asks us to trust Him.”
Finally,
this afternoon I visited a friend in a rehab center for physical
therapy. He was quick to say, “God is able take care of this, but
even if He doesn’t, He’s still God.”
When
society (and sometimes even preachers) tell us, “You deserve health
and wealth; you’re entitled to recognition and power; you are in
control of your destiny;” God has something different to say. He
tells us: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it
comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were
happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s
sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is
revealed… Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s
will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good”
(1 Peter 4:12-13, 19 ESV, italics added). God in His sovereignty does
not decree lives of comfort, power, and success for His children.
Instead we should expect lives that continually reveal our weakness
and inability so that He may be glorified as we humbly serve Him.
I
was reminded of a line from the end of Hinds’ Feet on High Places:
“From
the heights we leap and flow
To the valleys down below,
Sweetest urge and sweetest will,
To go lower, lower still.”
To the valleys down below,
Sweetest urge and sweetest will,
To go lower, lower still.”
That
has been the lesson for me this week, and probably for a long time to
come—faithfulness to God is not found in striving for success,
achievement, and recognition, but humility; not in entitlement, but
service.
“He
must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
“God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
“Do
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count
others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not
only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”
(Philippians 2:3-4).
©
2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright
free from pixabay.com.
