To Be Humble Like Jesus

When Jesus first spoke to His disciples all He said was, “Come. Follow me!” A simple command given to ordinary men, and a command also given to us.

Without need of an explanation, Christ calls us to trust Him because He has everything in His control. As my pastor once said, Christ scoops oceans in His hands, and I scoop ice cream in mine!

In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. -Ephesians 1:11-12

If God is working in my life according to His great purpose, why am I so focused on my own plans? Sometimes, even under the impression that this is what God wants for me?

I’m a big dreamer. I love to travel, explore and run head first into the next thing I think God shows me. Last summer I was travelling Europe and experiencing God in a whole new light, so I had high expectations for this summer. I was ready for a new adventure; however, God had His own idea of a “new adventure” for me.

I had originally planned to go on a 10-week mission trip in San Diego, which did not work out in the end. I had an internship lined up in Hong Kong, and that fell through. Then I began looking at internships in Washington D.C., and those fell through as well. It seemed my summer was going to be spent at home.

So, I decided I would try and make the most of it. After many applications and a few interviews, I thought I found the perfect job for the summer....only to find out I had not been hired. The only place that hired me was the store I worked at in high school – this was late June. Over a month had gone by without me working, so that big road trip I had planned couldn’t happen either.

[pullquote width="300" float="right"]Jesus lived a perfect life here on earth, and He didn't live it eating with kings and high priests. [/pullquote]

My grand summer was turning out to be a bust and I had no idea what God was doing in my life. This “plain Jane” season was a brand new challenge for me and I was terrified.

In my shallow journey to outshine my friend’s summer plans I was deeply angry with God. I put on the “why me?” hat and lived out the month of June with discontent and anger. Why had Christ put me in this position?

Why had He given me all these opportunities, yet closed every door?

I had felt betrayed by Him and His promises to me. Each day grew darker when every single Facebook and Instagram post from my close friends was filled with gospel sharing, beach days, and overall joy.

I was jealous. I was angry. I was lost. And I felt alone.

Never in my whole life had I been truly angry with God. I had been guiding this anger towards all of my friends who seemed to have everything figured out. One day, I had a very straightforward conversation with my former roommate, who told me how stupid I was being and that I needed to confront this anger in order to be free of it.

This forced me to tear down my walls and express all the hurt that was in my heart. I could not be open and honest with anyone, but I knew that I had to be all-accessible to Christ. I cried and cried and gave God everything I had. By God’s grace my wall of hatred came down and He flooded my heart with love.

The next day, a friend of mine told me one word: humility.

This is what Christ had put in front of me at the beginning of my summer and I had rejected the idea of being humble. After all, I thought I was humble enough for a Christian. I found the definition of humility and realized how selfish I really am:

“A modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness.”

Am I modest? No. Do I have a low view of my own importance? No - I have a pretty elevated opinion of how important I am.

Our earthly idea of self-importance is very skewed from God’s. The world tells us that we are only as important as what we contribute to society – work, relationships, knowledge, etc. By the world’s standards, my importance was indeed very low this summer as I contributed very little.

God’s view of our importance is like night and day in comparison. We are unimaginably important in God’s eyes.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. -Matthew 10:29-31

I am not important because of what I do and contribute to this life. I had elevated my self-worth to this world’s standards and my anger and hatred grew when I did not meet those standards.

When we put our worth in Christ, only then can we be truly humble.

My life serves no importance when all I want to do is travel and lead my own life. My life is only worth living when I am living under God’s majesty and under His power. When He calls us to be humble we are able to live a life more worthy than sparrows!

Jesus lived a perfect life here on earth, and He didn't live it eating with kings and high priests. Jesus is the ultimate servant and when we live to be just like Him, we will live a humble life.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33

Don’t have a pity party like I did, my friends. Don’t seek self-worth from the world’s standards because everything in this world will one day disappear. When Christ says, “Come. Follow me.” Get up! Humility is hard. We can only learn to be humble when we follow Christ and not walk in front of Him.

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