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| Hannah Praying, Bibliothèque nationale de France |
"My heart exults in the Lord: he humbles and he exalts."
So often we think that "being humbled" is a bad thing. It may be a painful thing, but for a Christian it is most certainly a good thing, particularly when it is the Lord our Good God humbling us. Being humbled by God helps us to see who we really are, it strips away the protective pride that surrounds us.
Only as we see more and more who we really are can we appreciate who God really is. Our littleness contrasts to His greatness. It is not bad to be little and weak. It is in this weakness, this littleness that He will exalt us, lift us up to Himself. Our hearts will exult and rejoice in Him as we realize that as much ugliness that we see in ourselves, it is not all that we are, it does not define us. Our true identity lies in the loving gaze of our Good God upon us. His love for us shines as He gazes upon us, and this bright gaze transforms us to become more of who He created us to be.
And somehow the smaller we are, the more joy our hearts are able to contain. As we grow smaller in what we think of ourselves, our hearts are able to expand. It is Christ's love growing within us.
Let us not be afraid of being humbled, of seeing our weaknesses, our sinfulness. It is like wiping the grime off the lenses of a pair of glasses we are wearing. We will be able to see God more clearly, and we will know His joy more fully. We will be able to see, really see, as more of the grime is removed.
Let us exult in Him, let us lift up our hearts to Him! He humbles us but, He always reaches down to lift us back up. Amen!
Amanda originally posted this at her blog Little Steps Along the Way
and amen and amen!
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