MamaArcher's Blog

Humility and Honor

In this life many trials and temptations will come. Some of these come as a result to our sin, but not all. They are to teach us, stretch us, and grow us. We are often attacked by the evil one; he will even use other Christians to do his bidding. When going through trials and temptations we must also check our lives in light of the Word to know if it is because of our own sin. If this is so we must repent. We need to seek to see God glorified in all situations in our lives.

While I have gone through many trials in the last year I have been learning that God does not want me to be defeated. Living as one who seeks to be humble does not mean being one who has been so humiliated that they are frozen. That does not bring glory to God. Now my husband and I are self-evaluating people. We look at ourselves, scripture, and with prayer seek the guidance of the Lord concerning when to repent and to grow into Christ’s likeness. This definitely does not mean that we do not sin. We do, in fact, I think we see more of our sin this way because we are opening ourselves to the ever-exposing light of Christ.

It can be difficult however not to cross the line between being humbled by the Lord and being discouraged by the evil one. Each time we repent it should be a humbling experience. In repentance we acknowledge in full our place before the Lord. We are a fallen creature before a holy God. Thankfully, He is also loving, gracious, and merciful to His children, those who believe. We must also not let the lies of the evil one to distract us from the fact that even in our weakest moments, we as believers are children of the King. We are called to be humble and there is honor in that humility. This seems contradictory doesn’t it? The key is to use that honor to keep the evil one at bay and to be encouraged but to not hold that honor as our own (thus defeating our humility & becoming prideful of our then false humility) but to lay that honor at the feet of Jesus!

I had such an experience recently. I was allowing the lies of the evil one to take over. I was feeling as if my failings had given others cause to throw my past in my face and exclaim that I was indeed the trash from the wrong side of the tracks that they had always thought me to be. I was discouraged and frozen in my effectiveness for Christ. I cried and shared this with my husband. One of my teenage daughters overhearing went and wrote me a letter. Using scripture she reminded me of the honor Christ had bestowed upon me. She said that she did not care where I had come from or what I had done in the past but she was thankful that I was her mother. She shared that she wished to be like me. That she saw me as a godly woman! She quoted scriptures displaying godly character that she thought applied to me. She closed it with this verse.

Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

What an encouragement she was to me, what an encouragement she continues to be! All I could say was thank you Lord! I know that I am nothing apart from God. All that I have ever or will ever accomplish for good is because of Christ! I am so thankful for the husband and the children he has blessed me with. They are a gift to me from the Lord which causes me to rely more and more upon the Him. They give me cause to praise and thank him each and every day for his abundant blessings. To God be the glory!