Daily Devotion

Reflection: Terry
Voice – Li Huan

Humble Yourselves

Audio

Today is Wednesday, the 28th of May. Let us be still before His presence.

The appointed Psalm for today is Psalm 133

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

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The Scripture Reading is 1 Peter 5:6-11

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Reflection

Again and again, Scripture calls us to one essential posture: “Humble yourselves before Me,” says the Lord. Why? Because He longs to bless us. He desires to help us walk into the calling and destiny He has prepared for each of us. He can (“mighty arms”) and he wants to (“He cares”).

But pride stands in the way. The hubris of our hearts blinds us to our need for God. Pride whispers that we can manage on our own, while anxiety shouts with fear because we can’t. The two are close companions. It is no wonder our hearts are often restless—we try to carry what only grace can bear.

Worse still, while we may ignore God, the devil doesn’t ignore us. He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. What chance do we have against such a force—unless we stand firm in God’s strength? Unless we humble ourselves and return to the shelter of His presence?

So will you come back to Him? Will you lay aside pride, self-will, and stubborn independence? Will you surrender and trust Him fully?

My brothers and sisters, God wants to do a new work in your life. In His perfect time, He will lift you up. He will raise you to walk in the calling He has placed on your life.

As Jesus declared in Luke 18:14:
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And do note carefully what Peter is saying. He did not say, “Humble yourselves.” He added, “Under the mighty hand of God.” It is more than just a call to practice a classic virtue. It is a call to be humble before Him. 

So, drop your wobbly knees to the floor clasp your weakly hands together. Kneel in humility and prayer. Let His mighty hands take over. 

Collect

We end with this collect:

O GOD, who resisteth the proud and givest grace to the humble:
grant to us the virtue of true humility,
after the pattern wherewith thine Only-Begotten Son manifested himself to Thy faithful people;
that we may in nowise provoke thine anger to ourselves, but may in lowliness of heart obtain Thy exalting grace;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Be blessed by this old Scripture in Song by David and Dale Garret, Humble Yourselves.

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Link to today’s Morning Prayer