Daily in Christ 5/12

TRUE HUMILITY

 

James 4:10 

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you

 

The second qualification for demonstrating authority over rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm is humility . Humility doesn't mean that you're always looking for a rock to crawl under because you feel unworthy to do anything. In exercising our authority, humility is placing confidence in Christ, the source of our authority, instead of in ourselves. Jesus didn't shrink back from exercising His authority, but He showed tremendous humility because He did everything according to what His Father told Him to do.

 

Pride says, "I resisted the devil all by myself." False humility says, "God resisted the devil; I did nothing." True humility says, "I resisted the devil by the grace of God." Apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5), but that doesn't mean we're not supposed to do something . We exercise authority humbly in His strength and in His name.

 

Seeing humility as self-abasement is similar to seeing meekness as weakness. The Lord was meek, but He wasn't weak. Meekness is great strength under great control. Humility is confidence properly placed. We are to "glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3).

 

Pride is a killer. Pride says, "I can do it." No you can't. We absolutely need God and each other.

 

Prayer: Father, I know You can remove Your blessing from me if I move out from under Your protection and authority. I acknowledge today that You are in charge of my life.