“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” – James 4:10
An interesting thing happens when we humble ourselves before Lord Jesus… It happens when we admit that we truly need Him and we mean it. When we acknowledge that we have nothing to offer Him that He needs and that our very best deeds and treasures are but filthy rags and garbage compared to His majesty, holiness, and greatness. It happens once when we recognize that we can’t solve our addiction to sin ourselves and cry out to Him for help. It happens when we confess that OUR sin, not someone else’s, is vile, degrading, rebellious, and separates us from God’s perfect holiness. It happens when we’re honest enough to realize that we can’t ever save ourselves and that we’ll never be good enough, disciplined enough, kind enough, or righteous enough to connect with God on our own terms. It happens when we tell Him that we need a Savior and ask Him to be that Savior.
From that moment forward, He exalts us! He forgives us and assures us that our guilt and shame are completely gone forever. He cleans us up and dresses us in His righteousness. He calls us friend. He calls us beloved and tells us we’ve been adopted by the God of the universe. He heals us of our heart sickness and declares us to be saints. He unites Himself with us and seals us with the Holy Spirit. He proclaims we are new creation. He explains our past no longer matters and that only our future in Him is important. He invites us to join Him in ruling and judging creation.
Humble yourself and be exalted! It’s much more wonderful than the alternative that we’ve all tried, when we exalted ourselves and found ourselves humbled by the Lord. Humble yourself. Be exalted by your loving Lord Jesus. #FollowJesus