Lord, I Humbly Submit - Part One

"Lord, to you I humbly submit. In this season, I again identify and remove all hindrances of selfishness which have limited you from interacting with the world through me to the extent that you desire. With a sense of freshness, I renew my response to your propitious and continuous grace by yielding (offering) my 'total self' back to you. Lord, my acknowledgment is this: It was you, who before the foundation of the world, endowed me with everything favorable. For that, I thank you sir and I humbly submit."


Greetings to All,

As I sit down to write a few words about this very essential element of the Kingdom citizen's experience, I am humbled all the more. In part, to have meditated and received such illumination from God and in part to have you as readers. My efforts to fully capture and present God's wisdom on this subject are undoubtedly insufficient; nonetheless allow these written words to find a secure lodging place in your heart. It is my belief that by taking this brief journey regarding humility from a biblical perspective with me, your life will become richer.

Biblical humility is a freedom! That's right, a freedom from the 'flesh-born' disease of egotism and pride, which grows out of the recognition that all we have and are comes from God. The apostle Paul penned it like this in I Corinthians 15:10a - It is but by the grace of God (that) I am what I am... Furthermore, biblical humility acknowledges that anything and everything that is praiseworthy about us is not only God-originated, but God-sustained. Therefore, all credit, glory, and honour must be deferred to Him as both the originator and the sustainer. So then, at the base level, humility acknowledges that we have absolutely 'no-thing' to glory in. All that we possess, tangible or intangible, is a gift from Him. Note the words of our Lord's half-brother James:

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." - James 1:17

So with this understanding should come a deep and profound sense of gratitude which should prompt willing submission to God. As we'll see later, humility carries with it a decision to act.

Now most of us have heard of the notion that pride serves as humility's greatest rival. This is certainly a true saying. All self-boastings, over-confidences, and self-reliances are unprofitable exercises in pride (Rom. 12:3). Pride is rooted in selfishness. Selfishness is too much attention on and recognition of - 'self'. Whereas, humility rests in the recognition and praise of another (Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3-4). You see, self-boasting or self-reliance of any sort is a privilege exclusive to God alone. Read the following scriptures as the Lord talks about Himself:

"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour." - Isaiah 43:11

"Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." - Isaiah 44:6

In the New Testament, even Jesus, being God in the flesh and naturally deserving of all praise and adoration humbled himself and became obedient to the Father unto death (Phil 2:8). With Jesus being our greatest human example, we see that obedience and humility are linked. In essence, our willingness to obey God reveals our humility stance. Therefore, with humility is the decision to act obediently. This is also true within certain of our human relationships. In light of this discussion, take a second and briefly consider the relationships between (1) parents and children, (2) supervisors and employees, (3) pastors and members, etc. We'll discuss more on humility within these relationships at a later time.

For now, as a final thought, humility must be evidenced in our behaviors and dispositions understanding that God is the only one who cannot become any better. Even on our "good days", if we justly measure ourselves against Christ we'll discover that there is still plenty room for improvement. Moreover, as we see ourselves clearer through humility, declarations such as, "Lord, I humbly submit," will echo from our hearts the balance of our days.


In The Service of The King,

DSW

P.S. - For all the scriptures referenced above, I have provided a bible search box to the right of this blog screen for your convenience. You can view these scriptures in different bible versions. I look forward to hearing from you and reading your comments.