HUMILITY, COMMITMENT, AND BEING GRATEFUL
When I sat in the hospital with Jane, I started reading
one of her books, an old book, on the life of George Muller. Jane had marked
page 319:
“To one who asked him the secret of his service, Muller
replied, ‘There was a day when I died, utterly died’; and, as he spoke, he bent
lower and lower until he almost touched the floor—died to George Muller, his
opinions, preferences, tastes and will—died to the world, its approval or
censure—died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends—and since
then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.’” *
I took a little time to think about Muller’s commitment
to God, and I knew I wanted it too—commitment in a bigger way.
The Lord had been bringing up the word “grateful” to me
for several weeks before, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. He confirmed
its importance in the next couple of days when I read Tony Barbara’s most
recent articles. Tony uses a form of that word (gratitude) in all his writings.
God used direct revelation to me first, then the insight of a man of God in the
body of Christ to confirm, to open my eyes to what I believe is a very
important attitude that may be sometimes missing in the body of Christ.
And it hit me hard how I now react to the word grateful,
versus thankful. For me, grateful seems to have a deeper meaning coming from a
real point of humility—from a Mueller place of I am nothing, but God is
everything, I deserve nothing, but by His grace only am I able to do something
good, and receive good things, good friends, blessings from heaven and earth.
Just as important as being bold in claiming our victory,
our righteousness in Christ, and our “more than conqueror” status, I think it’s
equally important to come to a George Mueller place of humbleness and recognition
of how unworthy we really are as humans, and drop ourselves at God’s feet. We
are nothing when we are out of connection with Christ.
King David was a man who understood humility and
commitment. He knew about being grateful in a George Muller way, before George
Muller existed. The Psalms of David are a wonderful testimony to spiritual
strength based on humility and commitment.
In Psalm 103:14 David says: “For he (JEHOVAH) knoweth our
frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” No wonder God calls David “a man after
mine own heart” (Acts 13:22). David wrote this verse in Psalm 103 out of full
humility, commitment, and covenant to God. And God loves and rewards that kind
of attitude.
The Hebrew word for “frame” means “a thing framed as
earthenware.” And the translation for the Hebrew word for “dust” includes “dry
earth, powder, ashes, and rubbish.”
David even says of himself: “I
am a worm, and no man” (Psalm 22:6). David humbly knew who he was without the
help of God, and he knew who he was when he stayed grateful and committed: 1
Samuel 18:7: “Saul hath slain
his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
As it says in Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Early on in the book Genesis, we find the answer to the often-asked
question, “Is a baby born innocent and good, or is mankind evil from birth?” In Genesis 8:21 God says clearly: “the
imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” But by
accepting Jesus into our hearts and lives, that all changes.
Even as a professed Christian, I really didn’t deserve to
have Jane as my best friend, but God gave me a gift I could have never given
myself.
If God remembers that we are dust, then every once in a
while, we need to think that way too, humbling ourselves as David did,
professing enormous gratitude to Almighty God for welcoming us into His family
and helping us to be our best and His best.
We acknowledge that before the Lord Jesus came into our
lives, that dust was us.
We must always be grateful for the opportunities the Lord
gives us, even if they look challenging. We look for and expect them to
come—it’s not anymore about what WE want, but what our LORD JEHOVAH wants of us!
Commitment to Him is the only way to live. And the
rewards are enormous.
Love, Carolyn
* George Muller: Delighted in God! By Roger
Steer
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