We will continue this week digging down into the first of four requirements laid out in II Chronicles 7:14 for the Lord to heal our land: for us to humble ourselves. This one factor, as we will see, can have a powerful impact on our quality of life in many ways.
As stated in James 4:6, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (NKJV). God’s grace is more valuable than any earthly treasure, so we must consider how different our lives would be if we had God’s grace instead of His resistance. How many obstacles and troubles that we attribute to the devil are really God’s messengers sent to resist us because of our pride?
As Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14 NKJV). No one who is intent on exalting himself will escape being humbled, while God promises to promote those who give themselves to humility. How many of God’s promotions have we missed because of our pride? How much more could we have accomplished with His grace instead of His resistance?
Another way we can humble ourselves is by casting our anxieties on God, as we read in I Peter 5:5-7:
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (NKJV).
Anxiety is an ultimate form of pride, because it implies we must carry the weight of a problem since we can handle it better than God. Trusting God with our troubles is one primary way we enter His rest and peace. He may use us to resolve problems, but we do it with Him for Whom nothing is impossible. How can we not have rest and peace knowing Almighty God is taking care of our challenges?
One primary way we are joined to the Lord is by being crucified with Christ. We are told in Romans 6:6 our “old man,” or old nature, has been crucified with Him. Only those still controlled by their old nature live in fear. All fear seeks to control us and replace our faith in God. The ultimate fear is the fear of death. Those who are subject to this are kept in bondage their whole lives (see Hebrews 2:15), while those who have been crucified with Christ no longer fear death because they are already dead to this world. Hereby we can all live in rest and peace, which is the ultimate liberty.
A dead person does not fear failure or rejection, and certainly does not stress to maintain their identity. Thus, those who live the crucified life, which is true discipleship, are the freest people of all. They are the ones who experience the abundant life.
Just think how rich and wonderful our lives would be without fear or anxiety. Just think how much more we could do if fear and worry did not control us. If you think that is unnatural, you are correct. We Christians are not called to live in the natural but in the supernatural.
Again, Jesus did not come to show us how God lives but how we are to live. If we will, with Him, take up our crosses daily and die to this world, we will live the fullest, most abundant lives. If we will give ourselves to be His slaves, and by this, servants of all, we will become the freest people on earth. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 NKJV).
© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
