Month: March 2022

I used to think I could handle anything, believing I was strong enough to take care of any hardships… yeah, right!

Oh boy, did God teach me some hard and painful lessons!

The Lord patiently worked in my life, training me to understand that my self-reliance cannot take me to the finish line.

Self-sufficiency is the enemy when it leads us to believe that we can always do what must be done in our own strength. To prevent this attitude, invite God to provide the power. At times, He may take something away from us to bring to our attention that he is the One who provides strength and direction. We must recognize the danger of fighting in our own strength. We can be confident of victory only if we put our confidence in God and not ourselves.

This is a crucial matter: spiritual blackout, spiritual fugue can be an ongoing problem for us. Sadly, we easily forget Who accomplishes good things on our behalf. Even though we know that God has strategically and divinely orchestrated rescue missions in our past, we tend to quickly forget His kindness and mercy.  

Yes, we do forget, don’t we? 

Why? 

Because sometimes, the size of our ego—our own self-reliance blocks our view, and ends up costing us tremendously. You probably agree with me on this one: Pride forgets, and humility remembers the goodness of God.

Sure, God knows His people and He has blessed us with great gifts and talents accordingly. If we are even reasonably positioned to succeed in a task, we tend to take the credit that rightfully belongs to God. We may even explain it by numbering our accomplishments and experiences, or crediting our genetics. Sadly, we will try to own what belongs to God.

I love how Priscilla Shirer sums it up like this: “While pride, arrogance, and self-reliance incur God’s opposition and will shut the door of His blessings. On the other hand, humility fosters a dependence upon Him, unleashing His power in our lives.”

This is such a great lesson to heed. I had to ask myself, “Is it pride that dims my sight, making me unaware of my weakness?”  I was definitely masking my weakness with self-sufficiency. I was focused on problems and resources, rather than looking at the Lord.

At other times, I am able to come to the place where I may say something like this, “I can’t do this. I’m too weak to do such a task. My resources are inadequate”. God often allows us to be limited and insufficient. Why? So we can lean on Him for understanding and provision. Furthermore, we can admit that we’re not perfect. He is perfect! God minimizes pride and shows His victory. 

Once I recognized that my weakness is the conduit to God’s power and is a Showcase for God’s strength, I dropped to my knees in prayer — repenting and thanking Him for being the source of all blessings in my life. Indeed, I realized that God’s power is perfectly in line with my weakness!

“Our weakness is the key God uses to unlock the door, but even an unlocked door must still be opened. Humility is the knob we grasp that causes the door of God‘s power to be opened wide in our lives.” — Priscilla Shirer 

A truly humble person does not deny the gifts God has given her/him, nor brag about them as if they’re a product of their own making.  Humility is a state of mind in which one puts the needs of others above their own, and never thinks of themselves as better than other people.

Having said that, we should be more vigilant about guarding our humility when we celebrate our strengths, regarding them as gifts from God. Moreover, we shouldn’t look at our weaknesses as repulsive, but as helpful in developing our continued dependence on God.

Keep in mind, pride willfully opposes God. It will result in judgement and will crush you.

Humility says, “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” Proverbs 30:8-9

Don’t make the mistake of being too proud to not depend on God.

Psalm 103:2 “I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.”