"You have heard in my word to consider the ant, now consider Jacob, Joshua, Abraham, Jesus, Ruth, and every other man or woman who I have told you about. I designed you. I created you. I did not create you for you... but for me. I created you and designed you to be one people. Yet, just as Lucifer did to me, mankind does likewise. I designed you Jezreel. You can operate within that design or choose another way. I made you perfect but sometimes, you are not happy with that and seek to become more."

"Did Joshua not suffer? Did my Son not suffer, Have I not suffered? Oh... how I have suffered your race! I made you for good not for contempt. If you live outside of what I designed you to be, you will destroy yourself. There is nothing wrong with being a servant and nothing wrong with being a child of God! This is the meaning for suffering, pain, and destruction. These things have their purpose. You would never submit to me without them nor would you do any good. Yea, even Satan has his purpose, for I use him to bring about my will though he never sees or understands. Just as a father punishes his child to keep them from going down destructive paths, so do I. I do not do it because I hate them, I do it because I love them. Does not your own culture teach you that? Selfishness is at the heart of evil. Selfishness beyond the boundaries of the design are corrupt and vile. Accept who you are, which is nothing, embrace your weakness, and I will make you to be more than you ever thought possible."

^{Exodus 10:3-5}

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him,

"This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ⁴ If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. ⁵ They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.

 He also reminds me of this scripture:

 Proverbs 14:12-13

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man,
       but in the end it leads to death.

 ¹³ Even in laughter the heart may ache,
       and joy may end in grief.

 

Inside of us there is a struggle. We want to run things on our own, we want to achieve great things and this through our own power and merit. We are fierce creatures trying to make our own way on our own terms. Inwardly, we rebel and want to be independent. We don't want anyone telling us what we should be but want to have the freedom to decide things for ourselves. We want what we want and we want it now. We want to decide what is good and evil. We do not want to be inferior to anything. We think life is about status, strength, accomplishments, keeping up with the Joneses, money, achievement, survival of the fittest, fitting in, etc. However, life is not about these things. These things are meaningless. The core of the truth is simply humility.

It is a powerful thing to one day wake up and just simply embrace who you are and who you were created to be. It is important for us to accept who we really are. If you resist, as most men and women do, you will be destroyed by it. Darkness and depression will ruin you and take over your life. You can achieve things your way or God's way. You can fight authority or submit to it. The suffering in your life is necessary because suffering and pain must come first. Once the pain breaks your arrogance and shows you how weak you really are... you are now ready to accept Him as King and once you do (submitting to Jesus as Lord), He will lift you up and call you an Heir to the throne and give you eternal life. Jesus came the first time as a humble servant and the next time He comes... He comes as a mighty King! God has highly decorated Him and will put all things under His feet. It is time for us all to become the worm. There is no shame in this, but glory. It is not a bad thing but a good thing.

^{1 Peter 5:5-7}

⁵Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
   "God opposes the proud
      but gives grace to the humble." ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

 

^{1 Corinthians 1:20-25}

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²²Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

God not only maintains life as we know it but also protects our life. Lastly, God has saved us even despite our own selves through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is Creator, sustainer, maintainer, protector, and saviour.

Sounds like a pretty important guy wouldn't you say? It is with this thought process that we come to the conclusion that God is important and that we were created by Him and for Him. It makes absolute perfect sense that God would want to be revered and thought of in this way. I am positive that God takes great delight in His children showing Him just how important He really is to them. To know our place... (He is God and I am not). To treat God as if He is the most important person in your life and the one thing that you can not live without may take some serious thought on your part concerning humility. He is King, Lord, Saviour, Friend, Protector, Creator, Provider, and God. We should always encourage ourselves daily to put Him up on the pedestal and exalt and glorify Him instead of ourselves or anything else around us.

^{Psalm 35:26-28}

²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.

²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, "The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant."

²⁸ My tongue will speak of your righteousness
and of your praises all day long.

It is probably the hardest lesson of all to learn. How to lay down ones own life to serve God and worship Him daily even at the expense of our own desires. This life and world drives us to self-glorification. It keeps us trapped and burdened down with obligations. It never lets up... and this is the battle we fight. The world's way through Satan (who still has power over the culture and structure of this world) constantly drags us down. It saturates us with fear, doubt, commercialism, and self-indulgence. It keeps us blind.

It is not a battle only against such powers but also against the body itself. The body (flesh) is accustomed to getting it's way and it hates honoring God. It is the primal survival mechanism that drives us, although we rarely recognize it's influence in our daily lives. To love God is to live for something better and above our meager ambitions. To walk in humility and fear, making Him King and Lord over our life. Putting Him first no matter what the world tells us. Setting our eyes on a greater hope and a better promise in the world to come.

^{1 Peter 2:25}

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Many of the Psalms are the actual words of David (led by the Holy Spirit) but are also the words of Christ. In the Psalms we see the humility of Christ mentioned many times. He even calls himself a worm. Psalms is not the only book to contain the words of Christ or mirrors of His words but Job is also a book that has an incredible link (underestimated by most Pastors and Theology majors) to prophetic themes and mirrors of Jesus Christ. When I say the word mirror, what I mean is that the verse does have meaning as it is being spoken at the time but it is two-dimensional in that it also represents Christ in some way or another.

Jesus was the word made flesh. It makes perfect sense that He is mentioned (and His story told) throughout the Bible. Jesus was the Son of God with the power to take control of this world and bring all the kingdoms of the world under submission. He had the power to destroy anyone who opposed Him and dominate this world as the King He was. However, He made the most severe leap of humility by becoming obedient to death and becoming a servant to all mankind. We are nothing but think we are something. Jesus really was something and had to become nothing for us.

^{Job 25:2-6}

² "Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

³ Can his forces be numbered?
Upon whom does his light not rise?

⁴ How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?

⁵ If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

⁶ how much less man, who is but a maggot—
a son of man, who is only a worm!"

Arrogance is easily identifiable and the more humble you become the more arrogance sickens your heart. People think they know so much when we all know so little. I would rather be a simple Christian who loves God than a man who is so educated in his theology that he can not express love. Arrogance blinds and is the sole reason why man has taken Christianity and divided it up into convenient little packages. We tend to label and throw people into pots and pass judgment on them. Am I Baptist? Am I Pentecostal? Am I Lutheran? Am I Catholic? Am I right? Am I wrong? Last time I looked... I was a Christian.For even this blog is nothing and all these words are nothing, except a simple statement of belief in the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ and the freedom and forgiveness He provides freely.

James 4:6-12

6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."

7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Yet, along with worldly knowledge comes arrogance, pride, and haughtiness. It is clear in the Bible that the behavior that comes from arrogance is most hated by God. We must be careful daily not to allow ourselves to become haughty and conceited but be humble before others and in our worship and prayer to God.

Question less (which stirs up quarreling and arguments and seeds doubt and unbelief) and reaffirm more. Reaffirm Christ and our reliance on His righteousness and His sacrifice for us. Show the world the worm instead of the hard, strong, willful person that you can be. For strength is for fools and self righteousness is for the ignorant.

Proverbs 3:34-35

34 He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.

35 The wise inherit honor,
but fools he holds up to shame.

Proverbs 11:2-3

2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

However, (and most importantly) we all share in the same gift which is salvation through one man (Jesus Christ). We must trust in His word and His promises to us. We must trust that all things are within His hands and He goes to battle ahead of us to ensure our victory.

The greatest turning point in our growth as Christians must be when we realize that it has little to do with us and more to do with Him. Humility and sacrifice are what love is all about. Jesus proved that on the cross.

Psalm 147:5-6

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

Psalm 149:3-4

3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

4 For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.

The Bible declares that such things as pride does not come from God. In other words, it is not in His nature. Pride and arrogance is not part of His Holy essence. God is love and love is not about pride. Jesus spoke on humility and it is mentioned countless times throughout the Bible.

Although the Holy Spirit helps us, it is incredibly hard to be humble in today's world. It takes a great amount of patience and maturity to serve instead of lead, to give instead of receive, and to love instead of hate. In haughtiness we often run to achieve all things but it is important to understand that we must be patient and let God do the work. Humility is just another trait that is connected with love, patience, forgiveness, fear of God, trust, and faith. They are all interconnected.

2 Samuel 22:26-28

26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

27 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

28 You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

2 Chronicles 7:14-15

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.