As I began 2020, The Lord gave me this focus:  Humility

Here’s what I wrote in my journal as the Lord began to speak to me about humility.

Abandon every display of selfishness–thinking that focuses on how I personally benefit.  Possess a GREATER concern for what matters to others instead of your own personal interests.  Let the mindset of Jesus be your motivation and example:  He fully obeyed the Father in everything, for our benefit.  And because of his obedience, God exalted Him and multiplied his greatness!  Taken from Phillipians 2:4,9

The Spirit took me to Ephesians 5, which is so good, but he especially highlighted verse 21 and 33 to me.  ..submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  … and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

As I meditated on those scriptures, he expanded my understanding of what it means to respect my husband, or anyone for that matter.

I wrote in my journal:

To honor or respect is to: 

• listen to and value one another’s thoughts and ideas
• Recognize one another’s significance
• value a person simply because they are a human being made in the likeness of God
• value a person’s contribution
• value a person’s calling/position
• communicate that a person matters
• to recognize and really believe that every person is needed
• to make a person feel seen and heard
• to make a person feel like they belong
• to recognize that every person has access to everything he or she needs to fulfill their calling and to be the person God called them to be
• to trust people without the need to control or micromanage
• To make a person feel like they are worth our time and energy
• To make a person feel special
• To ask for and receive a person’s help

A person or group of people is not Honored or respected when they are:

• ignored
• unheard
• criticized
• devalued
• unimportant
• made to feel incompetent
• not needed
• made to feel inferior
• made to feel that they have very little to contribute (only what I deem valuable)

As I’m now having lots of conversations around racism and injustice, humility keeps bubbling to the surface.  We all must stay humble in these conversations.  We must be humble enough to know that NONE of us has the corner market on truth.  We must be humble enough to admit our failures.  We must be humble enough to confess our own, our ancestors, and our country’s sins.  We must be humble enough to submit to others when we would rather lead the conversation.  We must be humble enough to be patient and compassionate with those who aren’t “getting it” fast enough.  We must humble enough to admit that God’s version of who is qualified, often looks completely different from ours.   We must be humble enough to admit what we don’t know so that we are able to learn from those who can teach us.

Ultimately, we need the lavish grace of God to invade our world powerfully.

I need His grace to invade my life.

God pours out grace to those whose hearts are in a position of humility.

Great things happen when we humble ourselves under the mighty hands of our God.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:6