I woke up early this Saturday morning with our move on my mind. In the beginning we thought we knew God was moving us to another city. More than that, we felt God was speaking "purpose" to us. We were moving to fulfill God's purpose in us.
As time went on our thoughts changed. We knew one thing--we were selling our house and moving. But where? Reid's son asked us to stay in town and live in the house he would buy. Another of his sons is wanting to move back here in order to be near family. Our grandson doesn't want us to move and offered to clean out their barn and make it livable for us. We like the weather here and have friends, and doctors, and a good hairdresser :)
All which makes it hard to pull up roots at 73 and start over.
Yet we prayed. "Lord, where do you want us?"
This morning I sat in my favorite room, a room I may not have when we downsize, and read my Bible. I began in Ephesians and read about God's plan from the beginning to make us his children. I went to my Amplified Bible and found a sticky note I'd written many years ago and left on Psalm 90. I'd written four scriptures from the Psalm: 12,14,16,17. Below them was this sentence: God in circumstances shaping life, not circumstances. As I read the verses and meditated on the statement, I saw the truth of our move.
I love my house and I love the space I have. Thinking about squeezing all my "treasures" in a smaller place or having to live without them, is humbling. Humility! Of course. God is working humility in us, and as I read, I saw that He is answering our prayers for wisdom. Humility and wisdom. God's purpose is always to shape our lives.
Purpose is being, not doing.
When I saw this, gratitude came. Ah, ha! Something else God wants from us--gratitude. Oh, works happen, too, but they don't come first because if they do, then humility and wisdom suffer and gratitude pales into pride.
We don't know where we are going to live or who may buy this house and when, but it no longer matters. God is at work in our circumstances shaping our lives and we are grateful for that!
Showing posts with label humility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humility. Show all posts
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Monday, August 31, 2009
Humility, Rebellion and Pride
How do you know if you're humble?
I've heard that a truly humble person isn't aware he/she is humble. Other people see it, but the humble person doesn't.
How do you know if you're proud?
Everyone sees that.
Including the person who is proud? Not always.
In the early 70s Kenneth Copeland preached a message on pride. Since I felt so bad about myself, I decided I wasn't proud. At least that was ONE sin I didn't have.
HA!
It took God about a minute to begin showing me my pride, and for the last 30+ years He's still working on me in that area.
I went to church yesterday with a burr under my saddle. I had no sooner walked into class when I recognized what I was feeling was that ugly pride again. "Greater love has no man. . ." you know the rest. ". . .that he lays down his life for his friend."
Laying down one's life isn't about physically dying for someone. That would be too easy. Laying down one's life is saying, "I don't have to be right in anyone's eyes except God's."
I don't know about you, but rebellion reigns in my heart and has from my birth. My mother told stories of the tantrums I threw when I was little. The day she lay down on the floor and began kicking, screaming and crying just like I was doing, I stopped. Did I see how ugly that was or did I see that I was beaten? Whatever it was, it still reared up over and over in my life, but not in kicking and screaming.
A few years ago we went to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. We had walked through several of the wings viewing works of art and were in the area of European sculpture and decorative arts. In that wing was the Farnese Table, a Roman work of marble, alabaster and semiprecious stones. It was 150 inches long and, as they described it,"a sumptuous table after the design of da Vignola proclaiming the majesty of the Roman High Renaissance." On the table was a small, tasteful sign that said, "Do Not Touch."
I'd been all over that museum with never a thought of touching anything until a sign told me not to. I had to fight the desire to reach out and lay a fingertip on that table. That's plain old rebellion rearing its proud head. That's what Adam and Eve felt when they were told by God not to touch the tree; what the Israelites felt when God handed down the Ten Thou-Shalt-Nots; and what many today experience about laws.
We don't watch Big Brother but I turned it on one night recently. All the housemates are required to be wired the entire time they are on the show. One of the women (who, I've been told, was a problem from the beginning) didn't wear hers. The Producer from somewhere by speaker, told her to put it on. Another housemate handed it to her and the woman tossed it into the swimming pool. They kicked her off the show.
Rebellion lives in our hearts, maybe all the time we're here on this earth. A banker I once knew bragged that he worked around money but was never tempted to steal any of it. However, he stole something from me--something he could have gone out and bought for very little money.
Breaking laws (speeding included), lying, stealing, cheating, believing we're right no matter what. Rebellion and Pride.
God is so good to me that He allows situations into my life all the time that show me how rebellious and proud I really am. All in order for me to learn humility.
I've heard that a truly humble person isn't aware he/she is humble. Other people see it, but the humble person doesn't.
How do you know if you're proud?
Everyone sees that.
Including the person who is proud? Not always.
In the early 70s Kenneth Copeland preached a message on pride. Since I felt so bad about myself, I decided I wasn't proud. At least that was ONE sin I didn't have.
HA!
It took God about a minute to begin showing me my pride, and for the last 30+ years He's still working on me in that area.
I went to church yesterday with a burr under my saddle. I had no sooner walked into class when I recognized what I was feeling was that ugly pride again. "Greater love has no man. . ." you know the rest. ". . .that he lays down his life for his friend."
Laying down one's life isn't about physically dying for someone. That would be too easy. Laying down one's life is saying, "I don't have to be right in anyone's eyes except God's."
I don't know about you, but rebellion reigns in my heart and has from my birth. My mother told stories of the tantrums I threw when I was little. The day she lay down on the floor and began kicking, screaming and crying just like I was doing, I stopped. Did I see how ugly that was or did I see that I was beaten? Whatever it was, it still reared up over and over in my life, but not in kicking and screaming.
A few years ago we went to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. We had walked through several of the wings viewing works of art and were in the area of European sculpture and decorative arts. In that wing was the Farnese Table, a Roman work of marble, alabaster and semiprecious stones. It was 150 inches long and, as they described it,"a sumptuous table after the design of da Vignola proclaiming the majesty of the Roman High Renaissance." On the table was a small, tasteful sign that said, "Do Not Touch."
I'd been all over that museum with never a thought of touching anything until a sign told me not to. I had to fight the desire to reach out and lay a fingertip on that table. That's plain old rebellion rearing its proud head. That's what Adam and Eve felt when they were told by God not to touch the tree; what the Israelites felt when God handed down the Ten Thou-Shalt-Nots; and what many today experience about laws.
We don't watch Big Brother but I turned it on one night recently. All the housemates are required to be wired the entire time they are on the show. One of the women (who, I've been told, was a problem from the beginning) didn't wear hers. The Producer from somewhere by speaker, told her to put it on. Another housemate handed it to her and the woman tossed it into the swimming pool. They kicked her off the show.
Rebellion lives in our hearts, maybe all the time we're here on this earth. A banker I once knew bragged that he worked around money but was never tempted to steal any of it. However, he stole something from me--something he could have gone out and bought for very little money.
Breaking laws (speeding included), lying, stealing, cheating, believing we're right no matter what. Rebellion and Pride.
God is so good to me that He allows situations into my life all the time that show me how rebellious and proud I really am. All in order for me to learn humility.
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