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means without the written consent of Paul K. Weigel, © January 2000.

A Journey In The Wilderness

From Page 64, The Wilderness

God took Israel into the Wilderness, in part, to humble them. I once thought of humbling as the occasional spiritual spanking God gave us when we got out of line. I have since come to see humbling in an entirely different light. I see the beauty of being of humble circumstances or position. Jesus’ whole ministry was characterized by this attitude. He could have “wowed” the most prominent people of Israel but He didn’t. Humility is also the character of the Holy Spirit. He will always lead us into a place of weakness, poverty and humility because that is His very nature. If we embrace humility, we have put on one of the greatest battle garments available to any Christian. In our weakness, God becomes our defence. We will find intimacy with Jesus in our lowest of moments because that is where He will be found. He is with the lowly, empty, and oppressed. As painful to the Flesh as lowliness is, it is the most beautiful state to be in because that is where Jesus can truly be found. As Believers, we are called to humility so we will be like Him. We will either choose humility or we will be taught humility by God’s humbling circumstances. Humility is one of the “pearls of great price” of the Kingdom which is worth selling everything for in order to acquire it. Our embracing humility and welcoming lowliness and poverty is pivotal in our acquisition of the Kingdom of God. It is in humility we gain intimacy with Christ. It is in our humility we gain grace which saves us from every enemy of the Kingdom. Jesus had all the power of the universe behind Him. He understood that it was not by power or by might, but by the Holy Spirit (Zec. 4:6). The Holy Spirit is manifest in His fullness in our lives only when we choose to humble ourselves. If grace and truth are to come to this world through the Church, it will come because we have chosen humility as Jesus did. We may think we have the right as heirs of a Kingdom to live as Kings, but this will not change the world. Preparation for our ministry will include learning the beauty of humility just as God taught all the mighty men of Israel. We too, must also be taught it.

 

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