Humility of heart and confidence in God

By Amanda Rose

Ukranian Icon (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

We needn't be afraid of our weakness, our nothingness. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen explains in my favorite book, Divine Intimacy:

"...for it is the consciousness of our nothingness which leads us to put all our confidence in God, and the greater this confidence becomes in us, the more convinced we are of our nothingness....I have to acknowledge new failures every day; daily I must begin anew.
The more we suffer because of our wretchedness, the more we should run to Jesus, with full confidence in the power of  His Redemption... Let us not be discouraged; if we can humbly acknowledge our failure instead of feeling annoyance because of it, the failure itself will turn into victory."

It sounds like such a little step to "humbly acknowledge our failure instead of feeling annoyance," but how difficult it is when we struggle with the same challenges time and again! The words of the psalmist in Psalm 37:24-25 have been a great encouragement to me over the years as I struggle with myself: "Though I may fall, I do not lie prostrate, for the hand of my God sustains me."  I continue to fall, but He keeps me from falling too far and is ever ready to reach out His own hand to pull me back to my feet, or maybe (more humbly) to my knees. He is ever patient with me while I am pridefully impatient myself. Humility of heart grows as we accept our failures as being part of our human condition, repent with true contrition, and then move right along rather than wasting time beating ourselves up, regretting, or rehashing.
 

Continue reading at Amanda's blog Little Steps Along the Way.