Benevolent Savior, my desire is to be one who takes his place at the end of Your banqueting table and has You call me up to sit closer to You. It would be a sign that I had shown humility, a contrite heart and have completed the work You assigned me to do. To achieve such a status, I must be willing to admit I am a man of unclean lips, have impure thoughts and act selfishly who needed to be redeemed by Your death and resurrection. To be able to draw closer to You, I must admit that I am a sinner who has been saved by Your grace. Help me never strive to get attention by putting on false humility or appearing holy when I am not. For Your penetrating light reveals all of my flaws and imperfections that might otherwise go undetected. In Your light, I am exposed for my good and bad … my humility and pride … my selflessness and selfishness … and my beauty and ugliness. To be lifted up, I must first bow down.
I submit because within You resides all power, holiness and wisdom. If I aspire to emulate You, I must first bow down in subjection to You. The most gratifying place I can be is on my knees submitting to Your Lordship and seeking Your mercy and grace. As Your servant, I must be willing to submit my will … my mind … my strength … and, my resources to You. Humility requires that I acknowledge my hopelessness without You. However, as one who has been redeemed, I am now able to reap the rewards You earned for me and walk in Your power. At the foot of Your Cross, I am able to acknowledge Your sacrifice as the price for my salvation … at Your grave site, I am able to see You put an end to sins control over me … and, experiencing Your resurrection, has allowed me to see myself at Your side in Heaven. I am anxious to sit at the foot of Your throne and watch Your awesome reign.
The more I recognize my need for You, the less haughty I become. The more I acknowledge my sinfulness, the more I understand my need for You. Help me glean the meaning of humility through the words recorded in the Scriptures. Like the Centurion who said, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself for I am not worthy to have You enter under my roof.” Or when John the Baptist proclaimed, “One mightier than me is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the strap of His sandals.” Or, the words of the prodigal son, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” And Your expression of Your feelings when You said, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” These words penetrate my heart and have made it evident that the only way up is by bowing down in submission to You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Psalms 146:8 … the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down …