When I was a young girl, I’d slip my feet into my dad’s boots. They reached my knees or higher, and my feet slipped forward as I stepped and upward as I lifted my feet. He had big shoes to fill, but I felt special to have them on.
We’re not going to fit into God’s shoes, but the slipping and sliding is totally worth it. I’d rather fall down and get hurt walking in God’s shoes than wearing anyone else’s! Including mine.
Humility reminds us that we don’t fill someone else’s shoes, particularly God’s. But our perspective is often distorted, and our humility is affected. We think too highly of ourselves. Or we don’t think high enough of ourselves – as God’s creation.
Our desire to look good affects humility.
Our desire to feel good affects humility.
Our desire for the best deal affects humility.
We can become bitter when we think we haven’t been given a “fair” life. And we can become complacent or even prideful when we think we’ve been given a “good” life. Both are dangerous, and both are deceptive, because both focus on what we think. You’re not God, so who are you to decide what a good or bad, fair or unfair, life is? Remember, God is the source of your life. He knows every detail. And he knows how all the details work together toward your purpose. And because God is God, we know...he knows “what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
The truth is…when we focus on how we look or feel or what type of “deal” we’re getting, our focus is ME-centered, not GOD-centered. You have a choice each moment of your life to either say,
“I can do this pretty well on my own.”
OR
“I can’t and don’t want to do this without God.”
Humility is not about putting yourself down. It’s about a proper relationship with God. Look up to God. When we say “I can do this,” we take God out of it and fail to acknowledge his existence. We become the focus. When we say “I can’t,” we take God out of it and fail to acknowledge his strength. We deflate ourselves or inflate ourselves, and both are wrong. We’re not the source of the air. God is. When we only allow him to inflate us through his encouragement and deflate us through his discipline, we start all our sentences with God. We must acknowledge God.
To the church of God in Corinth, to you who have been made holy in Christ Jesus. You were called to be God's holy people with all people everywhere who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours. 1 Corinthians 1:2
God can do all things.
That’s all we need to know.
Your worth is in him, my friend, and no one, including yourself, can make you worth any more or any less.
Adapted from Pure Purpose by Susan H. Lawrence. Check out Susan’s blog at
http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/ and follow Pure Purpose on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/PurePurposeFB
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