Hope in the Night (A 30-Day Reflection on Anxiety and Fear)

Twenty-Third Night: Do You Have Something to Boast, but God?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
- Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9

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Reflection:

Time and time again, we were taught by the Word of God that we were not saved through our works but by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It takes a whole vomiting of pride and humbling ourselves before God to accept the fact that we cannot, and will never be able to save ourselves from the eternal damnation. We know that we deserved hell because of how much a sinner we are.

One thing that I always prayed for is that God will humble my heart always. I always feared that I would slip up and boast. I always feared that I will become proud of who I am (when it was and should be God), and what I can do (when it should have been and will always be what God can do). And it is a healthy fear, as far as the Bible is concerned.

Humility is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is also one of the crucial attitudes of a Christian so that we may exalt the true protagonist of our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite our infirmities, our failures and successes in life, our God still loved us. It is not our own strength that we were able to stand against all things coming our way because as Romans 9:16 says, "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." More than that, "while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10).

We were trained to think in the exact opposite way the world does.

Even the Apostle Paul, who had written almost half of the New Testament by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is humbled. Perhaps, He was the greatest Christian in the Bible, but he didn't go around and say, "I'm Paul, writer of half the New Testament. I wrote the Romans and Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and maybe Hebrews!" No. Rather, he said again and again:

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Corinthians 15:9); "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8); "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15).

Humility doesn't only mean admitting that you are a sinner. You can still say you are a sinner while showing off your achievements in the ministry. Humility means you are aware that you are unworthy. You are unworthy of all things you received from God (even the strength you have!) and you understood that apart from Christ, you are nothing and can do nothing.

Pastor Jerry Shirley said in his "Inside the Heart of Apostle Paul" sermon, "Humility is not in talents. It is in the touch of God. It's so easy when God blesses us to develop an over-inflated opinion of ourselves. We glory in it... but God is the One who deserves the glory!"

Humility is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit that is hard to practice in our lives, especially if God did and still doing something great through us. Paul taught us in 2 Corinthians 3:5-8 that it is the Holy Spirit that does the work.

Maybe, you would argue with this. Yes, we were also taught to work hard and try to use every tool at our disposal. But through it all, we must pray and surrender the whole process to God like it all depends on Him, for it truly does!

Our humility in the presence of our Father is our confidence in the presence of our fears, anxieties, and sorrow. It is the same confidence that is rooted in God's unconditional love toward us through Christ, and gives us confidence that He will provide for us wherever and whatever circumstances we were in. That doesn't mean that God promises us earthly prosperity. But He guaranteed the spiritual aspect.

Why?

Jesus Christ said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Humility doesn't say, "I did it my way, my strength, my name". Instead it says, "He that is mighty hath done great things. Glory to His name!"

So wherever God will put you, pray unceasingly for a humble heart. Remember, we were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone!

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Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, humble me before You, O, Lord. Keep me reminded that it is not through my strength, not my wisdom, not my works, not even money and wealth that can save me but only Your Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, He is my Way, my Truth, and my Life. Amen.