Humbling Myself

A few weeks ago my daily devotional challenged me to apply a time-old truth to my life. At the time, I couldn't think of any way I was finding something repulsive in someone else that was really the very thing wrong with me. But 21-days later it kept me up at night. The log-speck reality had come home to roost.

Driftwood relocated to my flower bed - - from my eye.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye," (Matthew 7:3-5 NIV).

I laid in bed last night asking God to forgive me for my lack of humility. As a writer I really like it when someone reads something I've written and enjoys it or is blessed by it. Sure, I would love to write a top-ten best seller and take credit for it. But, I know that all the glory goes only to God. Sometimes I forget my place. I struggle between being humble and saying "All the glory is God's" and saying "thank you" for the complement. You see, for many years I couldn't accept any praise for anything. I would turn the complement back to the person unreceived.

I was conflicted between being what I thought was humble and being ungrateful for a kind word. I really do know that God gives me every word I write. I couldn't come up with two blogs a week without His direction and guidance. I get up on Mondays and Thursdays, often without a clue of what my topic is for the day. Even on rare days when I have a scripture reference picked out or a title or theme, it is all because God placed that thought or scripture verse in my mind or under my glasses to read.

Some days I can't believe how amazingly God pulls things together to create a message for me to share. And some days you probably wonder where God was when I wrote that blog!

Being humble means not proud or arrogant, or to have a spirit of submission. I have always despised persons who act haughty and proud. So it is especially painful to find that I am walking in similar shoes.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up," (James 4:10 NIV).

Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Word to guide my words. And can you help me carry away this log? Amen.

"Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet," (James 4:10 MSG).