Humbling ourselves

Today, during this second week of Advent, the Litany of Humility is on my mind. 

Over the last several months I have been engrossed in reading a book by Mark Batterson called Chase the Lion. Much of the message from this book is about the adversity God allows us to experience. More times than not, our prayers revolve around asking God to reduce the odds in our lives. Is it possible that God is stacking the odds against us so we can experience a miracle of divine proportions? Perhaps faith is trusting God no matter how impossible the odds are. Maybe our impossible situations are opportunities for us to experience a new dimension of God’s glory. 

If we lack humility, it is far too difficult to experience the great things He has in store for us. The past week for me personally has been one full of a roller coaster of emotions. I was part of a football program that embarked on a journey over the last four months that culminated with participating in the state quarterfinals. While all of this was occurring, my mother passed on from this life to take a seat in His kingdom, where there are no more oxygen machines needed to help her breathe. 

My mother instilled in me at a very early age the importance of humility, and lived a life full of serving all those she met. She lived a life devoted to serving God, and serving others above herself. She was a true example of His calling: “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” It is my prayer for all of you today that we will humble ourselves in all things, and that we will reach for him to take away our prideful feelings. 

The apostle Paul leaves with us a very powerful message of Christ’s humility in Philippians 2:7-9: “rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name.”

Author: Royce Slechta, Athletic Department