Daily Devotional for Wednesday, March 20

Humble Yourself

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up,” James 4:10.

It is much easier to humble yourself than to have others humble you. A local library hosted a yearly dinner banquet to honor patrons who had made donations to the library. A man named Jerry was invited, and when he entered, he saw his name on a place card at the table closest to the podium. He sat down and was soon served by the waitstaff. The room began to fill as everyone found their seats. After a few minutes, the host came to him and politely explained he was in the wrong seat. The “Jerry” on the place card was the bank president, not him. In front of a room full of people, he was directed to a table in the left corner where he found another “Jerry” place card.

Jesus described a scene like this in Luke 14:7-11. He attended dinner at a ruling Pharisee’s home and noticed dinner guests chose the best spots or places of honor. He told a parable to instruct them to take the low, less desirable seat instead of a place of honor so that place can be given to someone more distinguished. If they take the low seat and the host wishes to exalt them, they will be honored when they are moved up. It is always best to let others exalt you, “for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

James reiterates this concept in James 4. To live a pure, godly life, we must rely on God’s wisdom, truth and grace. Those who insist on relying on themselves and the world around them are counted among scoffers. God pours His grace on those who seek Him humbly, but He resists the proud (James 4:6).

THOUGHT
It is much better to stand in the Lord’s presence humbly than to stand as if we did something to get there.

Kelli Reynolds