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Two Women of Humility

by Woodrow Kroll

Two remarkable women, both found in Luke 1:39-56, one older and one younger, teach by
example a lesson too easily lost. They teach in what they say and do the amazement every
believer should have in sharing the blessings of God. But it is an amazement that can be felt
only in a heart of humility.

Elizabeth was amazed to find herself in the presence of Mary, the mother of her Lord. Out of
a heart of humility she said that she did not deserve to be there.

Mary, on the other hand, was amazed at the fact that God had chosen her to serve Him
in this special way. Her feelings were clear – God owed her nothing. Yet she had received
everything from Him. Out of a heart of humility she acknowledged His work in her life.

Humility is a natural result when one truly recognizes the awesomeness of God. These
two saints felt honored by God and expressed a deep sense of respect for Him. Their
relationship with God was not a casual one, as if He were a friendly neighbor. To them,
knowing God was an honor.

DEVOTIONS
Are you too casual about the things of God? Awe is easily lost when familiarity with the
Almighty is taken for granted. Keep a heart of humility and be amazed like Mary and
Elizabeth.

Andrew Murray on Humility


by Andrew Murray from Giant Steps

Herein is an amazing verse: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil.
2:5). In this view it is of inconceivable importance that we should have right thoughts of what
Christ is, of what really constitutes Him the Christ, and specialty of what may be counted
His chief characteristic, the root and essence of all His character as our Redeemer. There
can be but one answer: It is His humility. What is the incarnation but His heavenly humility.
His emptying Himself and becoming man? What is His life on earth but humility; His taking
the form of a servant? And what is His atonement but humility! ‘He humbled Himself and
became obedient unto death.’ And what is His ascension and His glory, but humility exalted
to the throne and crowned with glory? ‘He humbled Himself, therefore God highly exalted
Him.’ In heaven, where He was with the Father, in His birth, in His life, in His death, in His
sitting on the throne, it is all, it is nothing but humility. Christ is the humility of God embodied
in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness
and gentleness, to win and serve and save us. As the love and condescension of God
makes Him the benefactor and helper and servant of all, so Jesus of necessity was the
Incarnate Humility. And so He is still in the midst of the throne, the meek and lowly Lamb of
God.

Humility and Fasting


by Mike Ruffin

Ten years ago, I had to confront a friend of mine about something he did. I had not been a
Christian for very long and was very uncomfortable about the whole thought of it, so I sought
out my pastor, who suggested I take a day to fast and pray about it.

Well, I certainly understood the value of prayer in such matters, but why should I fast? The
truth is until this point in my life, the only reason I ever fasted was to lose weight and that
didn’t work for very long.

There are more than a few Christians today who would react very much like I did then to
the whole notion of fasting, especially fasting over the small things. Frankly, I saw fasting
as nothing more than an ancient practice that had no application in today’s world. After all,
besides hunger pangs, what could I possibly get from not eating for a day?
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In spite of my doubts, I took my pastor’s advice. Ironically, ten years later, I can’t even
remember what my friend did. But I’ll never forget the lesson I learned about the
importance of fasting.

The Bible tells us that fasting can help us to shape our relationship with God. However, it
should never be used in an effort to impress others. Jesus said, “When you fast, do not be
like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may
appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew
6:16).

Fasting really has more to do with humility than it does with food. The Bible tells us
repeatedly that humility is a virtue for which we should strive. In fact, Jesus’ half-brother,
James, hit the nail on the head when he said, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to
the humble” (James 4:6). So while the world often stands in awe of the proud, we need to
remember that God favors the humble. The problem is that while humility is a godly quality,
it doesn’t come supernaturally like meekness. It only comes through practice.

When we fast, we are putting the act of humility into practice. Outwardly, we deny

DEVOTIONS
ourselves something as basic as food. But inwardly, we deny ourselves much more than
food. Fasting is a spiritual acknowledgment that it is God who sustains life, not food.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee attended the dedication of the child of a close friend
and was asked what advice he could offer to the parents. Lee, a devoted Christian, not
only gave careful instruction to that family about raising a godly child, but gives great
advice to all of us when we scoff at the notion fasting: “Teach him to deny himself.”

Humility -- Old Testament Style


By Barbara Thayer

Frequently in our home, I talk with our sons about the importance of a consistent walk with
the Lord and keeping “pride” from rising up and causing them to stumble. Any one of us
can let this ugly sin creep into our lives and wreak havoc with our Christian witness.

The story of Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26 bears this out in vivid detail. In this chapter we see
the story of 16-year old King Uzziah, who has come to the throne of Judah. This young
man follows his father who was put to death and who had not followed the laws of God.

Uzziah starts out well by asking for God’s help in ruling. Verse 5 says, “He sought God
in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as
he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.” This verse says volumes to us! After all, the
key to successful living is seeking God first. Note – I did not say “wealthy living,” I said
“successful living.”

When pride is out the door of our lives, we can enjoy the abundant life which completely
depends upon the Lord. As we see from this passage, King Uzziah became very creative
and blessed his people. He created weapons and armed his soldiers and rebuilt things
which had been torn down. Our God can do marvelous, creative things through our lives if
we let Him and invite Him to.

However, the story doesn’t end on as good a note as it started. Verse 15 states that “his
fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.” Right
here, we can see that something is about to happen. Look at verse 16: “But when he was
strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his
God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

After serving God so faithfully, Uzziah became prideful. He was famous and everyone was
talking about how wonderful he was. Unfortunately, he started to believe it himself. Instead
of giving the credit to God, he began to believe that he had done this in his own power.

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Uzziah was not a priest and should not have been in this Temple area. When confronted
by Azariah, a priest, and eighty other priests, what did Uzziah do? Instead of repenting for
his sin of presumption, the Bible says, “Then Uzziah became furious...” He was mad at the
priests for confronting him. Whereupon, King Uzziah suddenly developed leprosy! What
a horrible disease to carry and one that made him an outcast for the rest of his life. Yes,
the Lord allowed him to continue to rule but he was plagued with leprosy for the rest of his
days and lived in isolation.

This was a sad ending to what could have been a wonderful testimony to the Lord. Pride
did indeed go before a fall in this case. Let’s not miss the importance of this Scripture for
our own lives. Pride is just one of those sneaky sins that can creep little by little into our
lives. Before we know it, we are taking credit for what God has done in us.

When we get down to the final evaluation, there are really no outstanding or great men
and women. There is only a great, merciful, and mighty God who allows us to be talented,
creative servants for the benefit of others and to His glory. If we can keep that perspective
with all humility, our walk will prosper and be a blessing. Realizing this will help us avoid
envy when others are praised and it will keep us from becoming proud if someone tells us

DEVOTIONS
how gifted we are. Remember that only God is truly great and worthy of our praise!

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