On the weekend of May 2-3 Pastor Clyde preached on Drinking From a Dry Well: Trusting the God of a Different Agenda. I was intrigued by the connection he made between trusting God as we wait, and the need for humility. As I’ve thought about it for a couple of weeks now, I am becoming more aware of the tension within me, the tension between the invitation to exercise child-like trust as I wait, versus my tendency to want to plan, to control, to understand, to explain, to return to “normal”.
The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Colhoun describes humility as the desire to become like Jesus in His willingness to choose the hidden way of love rather than the way of power. The author suggests several exercises to deepen our understanding of and practice of humility, but I found two of them especially challenging, so I’ve been pondering these for the last few weeks:
1. Assess your “image-management” quotient. Spend a week intentionally listening to how you speak about yourself to others. Journal when you spin the truth to put yourself in a better light. When introduced to others, note what you say about yourself and what you want to come out about you. What might the Spirit of God want you to understand about yourself? And about His work in your life?
2. In Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” What are the characteristics of a gentle and humble heart? How are you cultivating a gentle and humble heart?
May we learn how to exercise child-like trust and humility in this season of waiting.
