Devotion: Humble Yourself under His Hand

Psalm 9:10 "And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."

The promise of God is made from Psalm 9. If we trust in God and diligently seek him, he will answer our prayer AND he will reward you OPENLY.

This week my school is getting ready for spiritual emphasis week. This is a week created by the school leaders during the founding of our school. They wanted a week to dedicate wholly to God. Although I go to a private school, God can get lost in a routine for many. Before class starts most classes start with devotion, prayer, and then begin class. I'm sure some if not all, people get tired of hearing the "same old same old" when it comes to our relationship with God. Recently our high school's spiritual leader has voiced his opinion about spiritual emphasis week and I agree; he claims that this week should not be considered spiritual emphasis any longer. He says that our school is supposed to be honoring God every day. So he changed the title of this week. The theme: Renovation of the Heart. I love this theme with all my heart because being a Christian starts in the heart. I've been praying all last week about how this blog is going to go and I finally have a plan.

It was brought to me by a few things in my life. Perhaps in the future, I can go into more detail about what has been happening in my life, but for now, it is best I keep that at a minimum. The verse that has been brought to my attention is in I Peter 5:6-7 which says, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

According to Merriam-Webster, exalt means to raise high, to elevate praise or estimation; to enhance the activity of. This verse has stuck out like a sore thumb for a whole week. At first, I thought it said "encourage yourself in the Lord that He might exalt you in due time", but that wouldn't make sense because then we would not need God; however, it says "humble yourself". This past week humbleness has been super important to me. I've had to realize that it's not because of my study habits, gifts, or people that make me who I am; I am me because of how God is molding me. I am a Christian which means most people do not want to be around me. Ever since I was little, I have always had a hard time making friends. Not many of my friends invite me to their parties or hangout places. I don't have many people to share intimate thoughts with because most people stir clear of me. A few years ago, I went into a depression because nobody seemed to get me. They would crack jokes, but when I started to speak they would completely disregard me. As I've gotten older I've started to learn that it's not me that people are running away from, it's God and God has been my friend the entire time, even when I felt (and was physically) alone.

There were a bunch of situations last week that motivated me. After listening to a new podcast called Christian Girls, P.O.P (located on my home page) and my mom heavily encourage me to stop feeling sorry for myself, an unexplainable spark was lit in my heart. Then I began to replay Peter 5:5-6 in my mind over and over again. God began to speak to me: "Humble yourself, girl." "Listen to me." "If you trust me, I will raise you." This was all God speaking to me and I knew this because God spoke through the podcast I was listening to and again Sunday morning in service.

God cares for you, my friend. He wants a personal relationship with you and this week, my prayer is to help you start (or continue) this journey with God. I hope that each post this week allows you to find a different part of God, especially my personal favorite the Holy Spirit. Words barely touch the surface of what the Holy Spirit can do in each of your lives. To continue in a relationship with this loving friend, God, you must forsake (drop) all other ailments in your life. This means dropping what you know is wrong and looking to Jesus as a source of fulfillment. If you need help ask me, but for most, I'm sure God is dealing with you right now about what you need to drop to truly change your life.

The main part of being a Christian is not about your connections with others or your relationships with friends. It's about the unbreakable, unwavering bond you have to the Lord God. The deeper you get into the Bible, the closer you get to Him, and from the relationship, you have with God comes the traits. God's traits and thought patterns become your own and only then do you truly embrace the people around you. You see it's not from our strength, but God's care.

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Psalm 91:9-10 "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."

Both passages in Psalms remind us of how personal God should be to us. Psalm 91 verse one says that if we dwell (or stay, live) in the secret place of God then we will abide under the shadow of Him. This means we will be protected; we will be exalted. Verses 9 and 10 tell us that nothing, not even sickness, can stand against the might habitation [dwelling place] of the Most High. If this God that Christians so eloquently speak of can stand against sickness (which destroys countless humans a day), don't you think he can take care of the hardships in your life? I'm sure many of us have been impacted by COVID-19 in some way, whether it be a parent, relative, friend, co-worker, business, or even your jobs, hardships have come to all. It's done a pretty big blow, hasn't it? So John 15:5 should be self-explanatory: "...for without me [Jesus], you can do nothing."

Think about this next verse:

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

The reason why I've had such a big problem with my calling in life and my emotions is because I don't have enough faith. (Now if you want to know more about faith, I did a whole post on it. It's entitled: Faith-Based Walk.) Faith is the trust we have from reading the Bible and the hope we have in our Savior.

Hebrews 13:5-6 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Sometimes the answers we get from God are by far not the ones we want to hear or see. Be humble, be content. He is answering your prayers; God never goes back on His promises. When you put your trust in Him, you don't have to worry about the troubles going on around you. He's got you!

So don’t worry about what your enemies will do to you, they can’t do anything; God won’t let them. If you put Him first, from the smallest thing, to even giving up something you love for a week to focus more on God, he will reward you ALWAYS.

It may not come when you want it, BUT IT’LL BE THERE RIGHT ON TIME. He’s an ON-TIME GOD, yes he is. (That’s a song by the way.)