13 Jun 2009
Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)
3 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
Humility begins in the heart. It is in our thoughts that pride and humility first find their genesis.
Philippians 2:3 (NASB)
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Humility and pride are essentially defined by what [who] we think about. When our minds are fixed on God, His greatness, His glory, and His mission for our lives we will increasingly dwell in humility. It is impossible to do otherwise. [ Isaiah 6:1-5 ] Conversely if our minds are fixed on ourselves, on our strengths or weaknesses, or on how we look or seem, or how we are influencing or comparing to others ...... or nearly any other thought about ourselves, then pride has arrived. If we desire to develop signigicant humility in our lives we must learn to constantly consider our Creator God. The more our thoughts are fixed on God the more we will be growing in humility.
Pride brings frustration …… frustration will always follow pride because the fruit of pride is failure and pride produced failure procreates frustration.
Proverbs 13:10 (AMP)
10 By pride and insolence comes only contention, but with the well-advised is skillful and godly Wisdom.
Pride and humility are contrasted in the verses below notice the fruit of pride and the fruit of humility
Proverbs 16:17-18 (AMP)
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life.
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
In contrast to the way of pride ……
Proverbs 15:33 (AMP)
33 The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord brings instruction in Wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
In order to fear the Lord we must consider Him. We must spend time thinking about Him and His awesome power and indescribable love. One of the ways that we guard our ways is to meditate on the nature of our Father, keeping our minds stayed on Him. This will keep our minds off of ourselves since we can not reflect on the mercy and power and love of God and on ourselves at the same time.
Applications:
Make a list of aspects of the Lord on which you desire to meditate. Whenever you find yourself thinking about yourself turn your thoughts to this list and to the glory of the Lord.
Spend time in your mental “downtime” reviewing what you know about the Lord and giving thanks.
Worship Him ….. see how many things you can find each day for which to praise and worship your King.
Pray without ceasing …. Carry on a constant conversation with your Father in your mind throughout the day.
Consider a study of the names of God ...... " Lord I Want To Know You " by Kay Arthur
Jeff Williams
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