God resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble (James 4:6-7). Jesus gave us the ultimate example of humility, all the
way to Calvary's cross.
Humility releases us from the tyranny that pride
demands from us: to live at the top of our game, to succeed at everything we
endeavor to do and to be better than everyone else - to be perfect.
When we "let go and let God", we find
freedom from the oppression of pride. We no longer have the need to be perfect
or to live up to everyone else's expectations.
We reject the crippling defeat, which comes from
the criticism and negative opinions of significant others in our life, as well
as from self-disapproval - which is very debilitating.
God taught me that the quickest way to humility is
to apologize. This allows us to walk in humility before we eventually humiliate
our self.
We do not need to use the word "sorry" in
our reconciling conversation; this may heap shame on our soul unnecessarily.
We
are not pathetic or sorry, we are victors in Christ. We make mistakes, so we
apologize for them.
When we express regret over our words or behavior,
we simply say, "I apologize for…." We do not include excuses and
justification for them. We simply make the apology for causing another person
stress, hurt or other negative emotions.
The amazing side effect of apologizing is an
increase in trust levels and love that flows more readily between us and those
to whom we apologize, especially those who are willing to hear from us why we
acted the way we did and to improve their actions and reactions to what we say
and do.
Prayer:
Father God, we want to humble our self in Your
sight, knowing that You are our glory and the lifter of our head (James 4:10;
Psalm 3:3). You enable us to overcome pride and to restore relationships with
those we wounded. You enable us to walk free from the failings in our past and
to walk victoriously into Your future for us.
You make us a new creation, free from the bondage
to the past and the fear of the future. You give us the strength to take care
of issues in our life that we can positively effect, and the ability to leave
everything else in Your capable hands. We trust You above all and we thank You
for Your involvement in every area of our life.
Thought for the Day:
It is possible to admit the failings in our life
without feeling like a failure; we simply confess our shortcomings to those we
offend, and we grow in respect and unconditional love for our self and others.
