Devotional Thoughts for the Week of September 17, 2023 - Humble Yourselves Before the Lord
Bart and I were blessed this week to get away for a couple days to be still and seek the Lord. We did not know, at the time we scheduled this solitude, that the Jewish Feast of Trumpets - Rosh Hashanah was to be observed this weekend. God commanded His people long ago to blow the trumpets and to refrain from work on that day (Lev. 23:23-25). For the Jews this serves as a time of preparation leading up to The Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur has come to be known as the 10 Days of Awe. During this time devout Jews take time for introspection and repentance. They stop to remember Who their God is and how He calls them to live. They seek to reconcile strained relationships. They humble themselves and acknowledge their need for an atoning sacrifice. This is seen as a spiritual new year for them.
We are not Jewish, but the practice of taking time for introspection and repentance is crucial for at-one-ment, or living in unity with the Spirit of the Most High God. Although you may not have the freedom to physically leave town for a few days, I want to encourage you to carve out at least a few hours between now and the busy holiday season to get alone with your Savior. We all need to be renewed, refreshed, and re-centered. We need time free from the demands of this world in order to get honest and vulnerable with God about the deep things in our lives. It is healthy for our hearts to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Ps. 46:10). Let us invite the Holy Spirit to examine and test our thoughts (Ps. 139:23-24) and to illuminate any spiritual darkness we have allowed to take up residence in our hearts (1 John 1:6-7). This calls for humility. Each of us must admit we don’t know it all, we can’t do it all, and sometimes we fail. We need a Savior. We also need the guidance of the Holy Spirit day by day.
Sadly, humility seems to be in short supply these days, even in the church. Both Old and New Testament writings describe the virtue and necessity of humility among the people of God. (For example: 2 Chr. 7:14, Ps. 18:27, 25:9, 149:4, Prov. 3:34, Isa. 66:2, Eph. 4:2, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:5-6). We are to clothe ourselves with humility, which also brings honor and wisdom (Col. 3:12, 1 Peter 5:5, Prov. 11:2, 18:12). If covid restrictions were a test of the humility of the American church, we failed. The ugliness on social media was evident for all to see. Some believers camped out on the teaching that we should respect those in authority over us (Hebr. 13:17) while others pitched their tents on the admonition to not stop meeting together (Hebr. 10:25). Neither seemed willing to see the other side. The memes and posts on social media portrayed harshness rather than a unified body of Christ. My dear brothers and sisters, something is very wrong in the Christian church. When we insisted that our own views were more right, more wise, and more holy than someone else’s views, did God weep? If so, was it worth it? In the end, His opinion is the only one that really matters. God is calling us to humble ourselves so that we can be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Who humbled Himself even unto death.
None of us know what the days ahead will bring, but we know for certain that the enemy will try to divide us and pit us against one another again. Let us truly humble ourselves and fully surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit daily. Let us allow Him to bring such transformation of our minds that we desire His way rather than our own. Let us be willing to learn from Him how to truly love one another, which Jesus said was the mark of a true follower (John 13:35). That is the only way we will be able to walk through the next trial in holiness.
Lynn
Bart and I were blessed this week to get away for a couple days to be still and seek the Lord. We did not know, at the time we scheduled this solitude, that the Jewish Feast of Trumpets - Rosh Hashanah was to be observed this weekend. God commanded His people long ago to blow the trumpets and to refrain from work on that day (Lev. 23:23-25). For the Jews this serves as a time of preparation leading up to The Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur has come to be known as the 10 Days of Awe. During this time devout Jews take time for introspection and repentance. They stop to remember Who their God is and how He calls them to live. They seek to reconcile strained relationships. They humble themselves and acknowledge their need for an atoning sacrifice. This is seen as a spiritual new year for them.
We are not Jewish, but the practice of taking time for introspection and repentance is crucial for at-one-ment, or living in unity with the Spirit of the Most High God. Although you may not have the freedom to physically leave town for a few days, I want to encourage you to carve out at least a few hours between now and the busy holiday season to get alone with your Savior. We all need to be renewed, refreshed, and re-centered. We need time free from the demands of this world in order to get honest and vulnerable with God about the deep things in our lives. It is healthy for our hearts to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Ps. 46:10). Let us invite the Holy Spirit to examine and test our thoughts (Ps. 139:23-24) and to illuminate any spiritual darkness we have allowed to take up residence in our hearts (1 John 1:6-7). This calls for humility. Each of us must admit we don’t know it all, we can’t do it all, and sometimes we fail. We need a Savior. We also need the guidance of the Holy Spirit day by day.
Sadly, humility seems to be in short supply these days, even in the church. Both Old and New Testament writings describe the virtue and necessity of humility among the people of God. (For example: 2 Chr. 7:14, Ps. 18:27, 25:9, 149:4, Prov. 3:34, Isa. 66:2, Eph. 4:2, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:5-6). We are to clothe ourselves with humility, which also brings honor and wisdom (Col. 3:12, 1 Peter 5:5, Prov. 11:2, 18:12). If covid restrictions were a test of the humility of the American church, we failed. The ugliness on social media was evident for all to see. Some believers camped out on the teaching that we should respect those in authority over us (Hebr. 13:17) while others pitched their tents on the admonition to not stop meeting together (Hebr. 10:25). Neither seemed willing to see the other side. The memes and posts on social media portrayed harshness rather than a unified body of Christ. My dear brothers and sisters, something is very wrong in the Christian church. When we insisted that our own views were more right, more wise, and more holy than someone else’s views, did God weep? If so, was it worth it? In the end, His opinion is the only one that really matters. God is calling us to humble ourselves so that we can be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Who humbled Himself even unto death.
None of us know what the days ahead will bring, but we know for certain that the enemy will try to divide us and pit us against one another again. Let us truly humble ourselves and fully surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit daily. Let us allow Him to bring such transformation of our minds that we desire His way rather than our own. Let us be willing to learn from Him how to truly love one another, which Jesus said was the mark of a true follower (John 13:35). That is the only way we will be able to walk through the next trial in holiness.
Lynn
