Humble Thyself Before the Lord

 “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ, we must remember that it is not only about the Lord, but the words given to us to express the gospel are His words. Therefore be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV)

Paul was constantly vigilant, guarding against the insidious threat of vanity. The enemy can easily distort our successes, leading us to believe they are our own, not the Lord's. Vanity has been the downfall of many a servant of God. Consider the cautionary tales of famous church pastors, and you will understand the peril I am warning you about.

We preach the gospel, which is not about us but about Christ. When any of us speak of the gospel, we must remember it is not only about the Lord, but the words given to us to express the gospel are His words; therefore, any successes resulting from our preaching the gospel are God’s successes.

Those around me sometimes get frustrated because I take no credit for anything that results from our ministries. The credit goes to God. I may go overboard with this principle, but I would rather give all the credit to God than take one ounce for myself. Is there really an “extreme” to this principle?

I believe Paul would side with me on this point. He would rather boast of his weaknesses than of the work the Lord completed through him. We see this clearly in 2 Corinthians 12, where Paul wrote: “On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” The Lord gave me a thorn also, and I am thankful because, like Paul, it reminds me of my weaknesses and forces me to focus on Christ.

In our churches, we all see the proud, the boastful, and the foolish. We also see the humble, meek, and those who have completely surrendered to the Lord. Which are you? Do you have a thorn in your side that constantly reminds you of your weaknesses? Have you truly surrendered to Christ and realized that without Him, you are lost? Or are you still trying to serve two masters, meaning God and any other thing you covet: money, success, status, and the like? This is a question we all need to ask ourselves.

Embrace the act of surrender to the Lord and bow before Him in humility. Praise the Lord for every service you complete, recognizing that He provided the strength to accomplish it. Place Christ at the core of your life, allowing everything else to pale in Comparison. Only then will you experience true freedom, and only then will you have fully surrendered to His majesty, His power, and His sovereign grace.

Grace and Peace.