Morning by Morning, September 12 - From Humility to Hope
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my eyes up to the hills -- up to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- for You are my Help and my Hope. ...
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:8-10 NKJV).
As we battle the storms, as we struggle to survive, as we press on and persevere, You remind us to draw near to You. You remind us to humble ourselves before You, so You can lift us up. You remind us to remember You. Because apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
To humble ourselves is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. It's the opposite of pride, which says I can do all things in my power, in my wisdom, with my resources. Pride says, "I will survive; I will thrive; I will restore; I will rebuild -- all in my way, all I as I will, all by myself." Humility says, "I need You, Lord; I'm desperate for You; apart from You, I can do nothing; and I praise You, that I never have to be apart from You, for You are my Help and my Hope."
Pride, in this sense, is an unholy independence from You, manifested in rebellion from Your presence and rejection of Your ways. But humility, in this sense, is a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord to honor You, embrace You, and desperately depend upon You to be our provision and protection, our loving Father who always knows what's best and who is always near and always ready to help through whatever we endure. So Lord, slay our pride and give us humble hearts, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6 NKJV).
It's a heart of humility that will fill our hearts with hope. And hope is what we need. Hope in You alone is what we need. And hope is what we will have if we humble our hearts to hope in You. "Now may the God of hope fill (us) with all joy and peace in believing, that (we) may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13 NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I pray you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, as you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon Him alone, allowing Him to lift you up and bring you through whatever you're enduring, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!
Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace may be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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