Dear Reader,
"Count your blessings! Do it now!" I remember the little magnet on my mother's refrigerator featuring a wise-looking owl, pointing his feathery wing as if he was looking directly at me. I always thought it was funny how the 'assertive' and the 'cute' balanced each other in the little creature. Aside from its humor, the magnet served its purpose - it reminded me often to count my blessings.
I need a reminder of what in my life are blessings straight from heaven. I felt convicted recently when I realized that I take for granted the gift of a car that works. God showed me that driving my car isn't a right that I am granted because I worked diligently for it. Rather it is a blessing from God who enabled me to purchase the car three years ago through my hard work. This is a different message than what we are taught by the world. In God's "upside-down Kingdom" we put the focus on God's glory and providence rather than in glorifying our own acts and deeds.
A stunning realization like the above tends to put life in perspective. James 1:17 reminds us that all good things come from above. Little things like unlimited boxes of tissues during allergy season or magnets on a refrigerator that hold reminders don't seem like big, God-type blessings. But if you believe that "every good and perfect gift is from above", we need to thank God for all our blessings, large or small.
I know this seems like basic Christianity 101. Counting blessing was taught in Sunday school, true. But I challenge you to truly meditate on God's abundant provision. What in life is a privilege from God that you could take for granted as an inherent human right?
~Sara
5.10.2010
Humility and Power
Dear Reader,
Do you sometimes feel hesitant about praying for humility? I've heard many people say that they hesitate because they know God will give it to them - and that the process may be painful. Why is humility considered a negative thing? Wasn't Jesus himself the epitome of humility? Why would we hesitate to ask God for something that pleases Him?
Are we nervous about humility because we don't know what it looks like? I remember praying in the past for God to show me one real live, present-day example of humility. I wanted to see what it looked like in today's society. I wanted to see someone who was modest, virtuous and lowly. I thought if I saw a example and I liked it, then maybe I wouldn't be so hesitant to seek this character trait.
In American society today, individualism is revered sometimes more than God Himself. We often teach our children to cherish individual authority over the virtue of humility. Humility, in its true sense, is counter-cultural and is often looked down upon as "weakness." Jesus was, by no means, weak. He had within Him the power of the Holy Spirit - the same power that raised Him from the dead. So, as with Jesus, it must be possible to be humble and powerful at the same time!
A characteristic like humility is found repeatedly in the Bible. Jesus preached about it in his famous Sermon on the Mount series. Paul spoke highly of it as he described Jesus in Philippians 2. God requires humility in our relationship to Hm and to others around us; we need to plead for more of it!
I challenge you to be counter-cultural. Pray for the humility that comes only from God. He will provide this through the power of the Holy Spirit. Dare to be a shining example of humility in all you relationships, so that the world will see Christ in you.
~Sara
Do you sometimes feel hesitant about praying for humility? I've heard many people say that they hesitate because they know God will give it to them - and that the process may be painful. Why is humility considered a negative thing? Wasn't Jesus himself the epitome of humility? Why would we hesitate to ask God for something that pleases Him?
Are we nervous about humility because we don't know what it looks like? I remember praying in the past for God to show me one real live, present-day example of humility. I wanted to see what it looked like in today's society. I wanted to see someone who was modest, virtuous and lowly. I thought if I saw a example and I liked it, then maybe I wouldn't be so hesitant to seek this character trait.
In American society today, individualism is revered sometimes more than God Himself. We often teach our children to cherish individual authority over the virtue of humility. Humility, in its true sense, is counter-cultural and is often looked down upon as "weakness." Jesus was, by no means, weak. He had within Him the power of the Holy Spirit - the same power that raised Him from the dead. So, as with Jesus, it must be possible to be humble and powerful at the same time!
A characteristic like humility is found repeatedly in the Bible. Jesus preached about it in his famous Sermon on the Mount series. Paul spoke highly of it as he described Jesus in Philippians 2. God requires humility in our relationship to Hm and to others around us; we need to plead for more of it!
I challenge you to be counter-cultural. Pray for the humility that comes only from God. He will provide this through the power of the Holy Spirit. Dare to be a shining example of humility in all you relationships, so that the world will see Christ in you.
~Sara
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