Maintaining the Path of Our Destiny: Humility

We have been discussing on the Path of our Destinies, and of late we have been looking at what will enable us maintain the path of destiny. We all want to live our lives fully and one day hear our Father tell us, “well done, good and faithful servant..” Matthew 25:21,23. In order to do this we must live as He wants us to live, according to the word of God.

The word of God is a mirror, that tells us who we are, how we are supposed to be, behave and live (James 1:22-25). The word of God is a map that shows us the way to our destiny, and a rod that directs us as sheep in the path of our destiny (Psalm 23:4). The word of God is a light that illuminates the path of our destiny, to ensure we stay on it and not stray off, correcting us whenever we do (Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). From the word of God, we can know how to ensure we maintain the path of destiny. One of the qualities we must have to ensure we remain on the path of our destiny is humility. This is not the most popular topics as even the most proud people will never admit they are proud. Pride is not easily seen on the mirror, meaning it is not something you will easily notice. So, what is humility?

Humility is the quality or state of being humble, which is being lowly in mind, with a feeling of insignificance in one’s own eyes.

Sometimes we may get the definition of something by looking at what it’s not. The opposite of humility is pride and arrogance. 

The definition of pride is, “a feeling of pleasure from one’s own achievements, delight or elation arising from some act, possession or relationship, a reasonable or justifiable self-respect, either in mind, speech or conduct.”

We may be quick to say that we are not proud, but again pride is always hideous. These are a few ways through which pride manifests itself:

• When someone is appreciated or recognized and you feel like you could do better than them, not seeing why they even got the recognition or appreciation in the first place. Pride is the root of covetousness, jealousy and envy.
• When you are told to do something and will not do it as you think your way is always better, or unconsciously think that you should not be told, or just decide to go your own way. This is mostly evident in disobedience of the scriptures. Pride is reason why many people continue going to church and reading the scriptures and won't change, as they it does not allow them to obey the scriptures. Pride is the reason some keep going to church on Sunday, knowing fully well that they have never accepted Christ and still keep ignoring that still small voice telling them to say yes to Christ, as pride always wonders "what will people think of me?" Pride is the root of rebellion, sin and disobedience. Below every surface of sin is rebellion. 
• When you are corrected and feel offended, going to the extent of asking the other person who they think they are to “judge” you. Pride is always the root of a defensive mechanism in an individual.
• When someone is speaking and you keep cutting them off, thinking you have better things to say, or won’t even pay attention to what they are saying as you rule off that what they have to say is not important.
• When your conversations are always marked by “I “, always talking about yourself. Pride is the root of selfishness, and thus strife, divisions, feuds, arguments and fights (James 1:1-2).
• When you always talk about others lowly, or think of others lowly; this leads to sometimes embarrassing them. E.g. talking to a bus conductor or waiter harshly. Pride is the root of malice, contempt (looking down on others), and gossip.
• When you cannot ask for help, always trying to solve things on your own even when it’s clear you need help, either physically or spiritually. Pride is the root of self-sufficiency and in some cases ignorance.
• When you always want recognition, and do things to show off and for people to notice. When you get disappointed when you do not get noticed or recognized. Pride is the root of low self-esteem, since you are exalting your weaknesses thinking highly of yourself more than you ought to, in a negative way, and are inward focused. This happens when you always expect attention and recognition and when it does not come your way you start feeling bad and low.
• When you always think you are right, and argue even when you know the other person is right, just so that you may not admit you are wrong, or for the sake of winning the argument. Pride people never admit they are wrong. Pride makes it hard to say, “I was wrong”, “I am sorry”, ”Thank you”, "Excuse me". Pride is the root of arguments, broken relationships and divorces. 
• When you cannot forgive or ask for forgiveness. Pride will never ask for forgiveness, or forgive others, as you think you are more important than anyone else that you cannot apologize. Pride will make you feel like you did not deserve what came your way, and because you are so important, anyone who wrongs you have done the worst mistake of their lives because they will never be forgiven by you. Pride is the root of bitterness, guilt and unforgiveness.
• When you cannot do a certain task, because you think it is too “low” for you. When asked who will offer to for example wipe the church seats, clean dishes, wash people’s hands etc., you feel that it should be anyone else but you. Pride is the root of self-exaltation and contempt.
• When you always worry about what people think about you. Proud people can never be worshipers, as they always worry about what people will think. Pride keeps people from accepting Christ. Humble people do not care what people think, as they know who they are and people’s opinions will never change their identity. Pride is the root of lies, pretence, hypocrisy and cheating.
• When you always expect to be given, and served. Innately you believe that you are more important and should always receive. Pride people are masters, bosses and takers, and can never be givers. Pride is the root of selfishness, dictatorship and bossiness.

Long before pride is observed, it starts from the heart and mind. You start feeling “important” and puffed up.  As Christians we should never be associated with pride, knowing how much God hates pride:

Proverbs 16:5

“Everyone proud in heart is an abomination unto the Lord…” 

Proverbs 6:16-17.

"These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look...” 

James 4:6  

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”         

1 Peter 5:5 (AMP)

“For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful) - [and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them, but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.” 

So, how can we be humble? By learning from Jesus!

Matthew 11:29

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” 

Matthew 11:29 (AMP)

“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. 

From this verse, one of the rewards of humility is rest -- that blessed quietness. We can all attest to the fact that most proud people especially the once who believe in self-sufficiency do not have rest. They are always looking for more, wanting more power, wealth, status, recognition etc. The humble are always at rest and are always contented.

Paul gives us the secrets to living in humility:

Philippians 2:3-4

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” 

According to Paul, nothing should be done through selfish ambition, which is selfishness basically. We are trained from the beginning to be selfish. From the time we were born, we cry out for attention and demand for things (milk, food, toys, etc.) The world revolves around us, and when we do not get what we want we fuss and cry. This is why when you take a piece of chocolate from a child they will whine and cry. A child who does not even now what they are doing will cry demanding your chocolate, as he/ she believes everything good is supposed to be theirs. Same happens in a supermarket, when you’re doing shopping; a child wants every good thing. Worse still, we are taught that if it doesn't benefit you, it’s not worth your time. This is why even today you hear such statements as, “I let go of so and so because hanisaidii.” You are taught that the world revolves around you, that it is “Everyone for himself and God for us all.” Everything we do is through selfish ambition, trying to benefit ourselves even if it means stepping on top of people’s heads and toes to get it. This is why we have so much strife and fights (James 4:1-2).

God’s kingdom is vice-versa. Paul introduces us to this world, by telling us to do NOTHING out of selfish ambition. Imagine what the world would be like if all Christians did nothing out of selfish ambition. He further tells us how this is possible, which is through lowliness of mind. It all starts in the mind. Pride (kujiskia) and selfishness starts in the mind, and thus humility will also start in the mind. Humility starts when you refuse to entertain thoughts of selfish-ambition, and be lowly in mind. This basically means that you do not esteem yourself higher than you ought to, and esteem others better than yourself (verse 3).  Wow. The Amplified version says to regard the others as better than and superior to (yourself) [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].

Picture in your mind being in the presence of the President of the Republic of Kenya, having to spend the day with him. How would you behave? You would rise up when he walks in, open the door for him when you walk with him, serve him, talk to him kindly, always listen, taking every word in, valuing his words and opinions, pay full attention etc. Why? Because you believe he is better than you. Now if this is how you treat people who are better than you, this is how you should be treating EVERYONE. Treating people better than yourself applies the “you first” principle, where that person always comes first. This is the attitude we are supposed to have. Now try to imagine if ALL Christians treated each other better than themselves. You don’t gossip someone who you know is better than yourself, argue with them, fight them, embarrass them etc. You treat them with respect, always listen, give them your full attention, love them, and basically apply the “you first” principle.

Next, Paul tells us to look out not only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others. If you have noticed, the things he’s telling us are supposed to help us to get our minds off ourselves. That is the goal. Paul is not telling you not to look out for your interests, but rather to also look out for the interests of others. This basically means that in all you do you should put other people in consideration, how your actions, words and behavior will affect them; how your decisions will affect them. This is not how we are trained in the world. The world operates by the “mind your own business” principle, where I’m always supposed to be minding my own business, even if it affects others. This is selfishness. We are supposed to look out for the interests of others at all times. How much time do you spend looking out for the interests of others? How many times do you “make” or “create” time to help out another person? How many times do you sacrifice your money and time for another? How many times do you consider others before speaking, acting or making a decision? This is one of the greatest signs of humility, and the number one way to kill pride.

Paul then goes ahead and talks about our Role Model and Example in humility, over the next verses.

Philippians 2:5-11.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Note that Jesus fulfills verses 3-4, too. He did not do anything out of selfish ambition or conceit in his life on earth, meaning that not one moment is it noted that Jesus was doing anything to benefit himself. At one instance after receiving the news that John the Baptist was dead, He left to be alone in a deserted place but multitudes followed him and immediately he was moved with compassion and started healing their sick (see Matthew 14:13-21). This is where we got the miracle of feeding the five thousand. This also shows us that He put the interests of others before His. By dying for you and for me, He esteemed us better than Himself.

God would NEVER tell us to do anything He does not do Himself. If He tells us to be humble, it is because He Himself is humble. This is why after being told what to do in verses 3-4, we are told to have the same mind which was in Christ Jesus, who was God. 

Jesus was and is God, and still emptied Himself of His privileges and rights as God and made Himself of NO REPUTATION, taking the form of a servant/ slave, became like men (verses 7-8) and was born in a manger, as a man. This is God we are talking about. The children of Israel expected Him as a King to be born in the palace, and be arrayed with all good and rich things. Instead, in humility, He was born in a manger, amidst animals. We were all born in different places, most of us were born in hospitals, but I’m sure none of us was born surrounded by cattle and goats singing lullabies for us. We are not even told if there was a doctor or midwife to aid in His birth. Instead of nice smells and fresh air, He was greeted by dung and stuffiness. This is the God who created human beings, and the animals themselves, being born in a manger. This is why Paul says He made Himself of NO REPUTATION (verse 7).

Furthermore, He did not consider it robbery to equal with God (verse 6), meaning He knew He was equal with God. Still, while on earth He walked with the “rejects” and “outcasts” of the society, the fishermen, tax collectors, money keepers, etc. He associated with lepers and even touched one, conversed with a Samaritan woman, defended an adulteress, allowed a prostitute to touch and minister to Him, conversed with a criminal at the cross etc. They expected Him probably to walk with doctors, lawyers, Pharisees, kings etc.  Still, not once did He pull the “I am God” card. He never used His powers to harm, only to do good. He never manipulated people to believing He was God; all this is humility. If you were Him, would you behave the same? When people ask you if you are the Son of God, would you use your powers to show them you were? This same attitude and mind is what caused Him to become obedient to the point of death, the worst and most humiliating kind of death – death on the cross(verse 8).

In the Roman culture, the cross was reserved as a humiliating and terrorizing way of death, which was supposed to dissuade people from committing certain crimes, since the victims were displayed for all to see and be warned. Crucifixion was intended to provide slow, painful, gruesome and public death, and is the source of the word ‘excruciating’ literally out of ‘crucifying’. Even the children of Israel had a form of hanging, and at one point God Himself said, “for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” Deuteronomy 21:23. Jesus would have chosen any other form of death, but He went for the most humiliating and painful one, death on the cross. Why? Because He esteemed you and I better than Himself, and looked out for our interests. God in Deuteronomy basically implies that hanging is allowed for sin deserving death, but one has to be dead before he is hung:

Deuteronomy 21:22-23

"If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

We have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserved death according to Romans 6:23. 

Romans 3:23

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... 

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death...

Jesus, who had not sinned (Hebrews 4:15), chose to take our place on the cross, and to take all the punishment before dying on the cross. 

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

A man who had no sin whatsoever decided to take all the punishment of sin that we committed, are committing and will commit. This was because He esteemed you and I better than Himself, and looked out for our interests. I believe Jesus would have chosen death by beheading or stoning, but He wanted the FULL punishment of our sins to be on Him, and the most humiliating way at that so that we could learn humility and obedience from Him. Humility is a root of obedience:

Hebrews 5:8

...though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered.

As a result, God exalted Him highly and this is why we have His name that is above every name. All this resulted in God’s glory (Philippians 2:11). Whenever you humble yourself, God receives glory. Pride steals glory from God, who says He will share His glory with no one:

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another. 

Pride is self-awareness and self-exaltation, which glorifies oneself and I believe this is why God says He opposes the proud (1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6).

Humility always results in God exalting you, like He did with Jesus.

James 4:10.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” 

You are always in the sight of the Lord, so at all times you should be humble in your own sight, just like Jesus was. God is not watching you from a distance, like one musician sang; He is with you and in you, and His eyes are upon you at all times. 

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Never think you are better than anyone. It’s all by God’s grace and mercies that we are who we are, not that we were so deserving or so worthy to be who we are. We do not have anything to boast about, since no one created themselves. God created us, so why should we boast? It’s like you cooking ugali and then it starts boasting how well-shaped, white, hot and soft it is. Or better yet baking a cake and it starts boasting how mouth-watering, colorful  magnificent and yummy it is. This is how we look in the sight of God when we start boasting and seeing ourselves better than others, whereas we did not create ourselves. God made us and gave us everything we have and are, so we should never boast about anything. 

One may say, “but I worked for this myself, God had no part to play.” The earth and all its fullness belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1); All things were created through Him and for Him, and all things consist in Him (Colossians 1:16-17), meaning without Him we are nothing as He holds us and the universe by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3); we are not our own, we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This tells us that even if we make money, it still belongs to God as He gives us the power to make wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), and He owns us! Even unbelievers are given power to make wealth, though it is for the righteous:

Ecclesiastes 2:26

For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 

Job 27:13-17

This is the portion of the wicked man with God.... Though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay - he may pile it up, but the just will wear it. 

It’s like you owning a farm and after planting and the crops grow the farm starts boasting that the crops belong to it, that you have no right to claim them. If we boast of our intelligence, guess who gave us the mind and eyes to read… God! This clearly shows us that we have nothing whatsoever to brag or boast about.

Apostle Peter, who spent 3 years with Jesus bragging how he is greater than the other disciples and boasting of his love and devotion to Jesus, also talks about humility, I bet after learning the hard way:

1 Peter 5:5-7

“Yes, all of you, be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 

Let us study this text carefully, as it is so rich. Peter starts by telling us that we should be submissive to one another. To submit basically means to accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person. In order to submit to another person, you have to esteem them better or higher or superior to yourself. This does not mean we become doormats for all to tread on, it simply means we always treat each other with respect and be willing to be corrected, advised, instructed, warned, directed, praised, appreciated, recognized etc. 

Peter further tells us to be clothed with humility. This means that humility is something you can put on and off, like a garment. It is something you force yourself to wear, just like you force a child to wear a heavy clothing they do not like because you know it is good for them. Even when you do not feel like, force yourself to be clothed with humility. Why? Because if you don’t God, as your Father, knows what is good for you and if you don't put on humility then pride will creep in, and He will oppose you.

From these verses, we can learn that one of the benefits of humility is grace. In addition to grace being God's unmerited favor and blessing, it is the supernatural empowerment to do what we cannot do on our own ability. If you humble yourself, God will even give you grace to be humble, and basically enable you to do all things through His grace. The reason why Christians continue to struggle and live in frustration is because they do not humble themselves enough to receive grace, the empowerment to do what they cannot do on their own ability. Young people continue to struggle with sin and unrighteousness because they are not humble enough to tell God, “I’m struggling with this and this, please help.” As a result they are frustrated and will never please God, because grace is only available for the humble. This is the same grace that teaches “us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age..” Titus 2:12. This is the grace “by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29.  

If you do not humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, He will humiliate you like He did with Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:28-33. God cannot stand pride. The choice is yours: humble yourself, or wait for humiliation.

God is the one who exalts, in due time (1 Peter 5:6). God decides the “due time” to exalt you. It may take days, months, years, decades, but He will eventually exalt you, as He does not lie (Numbers 23:19). You don’t decide the due time, He does. So what do you do while you wait? You cast all your care upon Him. People may talk about you and the enemy may whisper all sorts of things to you as to your humbling yourself, and thus provoking you to care and worry; this care and worry is what you should cast to God (verse 7). Pride causes you to carry your own burdens and not cast your cares upon Him, as you think you can do a better job with your burdens and cares than God can.

If you do not humble yourself and cast your care upon God, the enemy will devour you (verse 8). Many continue to resist the devil and have never submitted to God and humbled themselves under His mighty hand; why? Because of pride. Because of this, the enemy will never flee from them. Verse 9 of 1 Peter 5 comes after verse 6, to tell you that before you resist the devourer who seeks to destroy you, you have to humble yourself. The same we see in James 4:7, which tells us to "submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee " from us. You don’t resist the devil while you haven’t submitted to God.  Humble yourself before God, submit to Him, then you can resist the devil. Submitting to God means that you yield to His authority. Do not have an area of disobedience in your life. Whatever He tells you to do, do it, as you recognize Him as the authority and superior power over your life. He has the final say.

Beware against false humility. This is humility that is not from the heart. On your own you cannot develop humility; it takes the work of God, as He is the one who searches our hearts and knows us completely. True humility comes from the heart. People who hear messages such as this go on into works of the flesh and legalism in trying to obtain humility, and thus end up with false humility and frustration. 

So, how can you humble yourself?

1. If you have heard or read this message and you hear the Spirit convict you of areas of pride, admit that you are proud and that you need help.
2. If you’re not yet convicted, surrender that He may reveal to you if you have any areas of pride, not only now but continuously in your walk of faith. Humility is a virtue that has to be maintained, which is why Peter tells us to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8), and talks of humility as a cloth, meaning you may unconsciously remove it. You have to be alert; as God is blessing you, pride may creep in. Living in total surrender to the Holy Spirit will help you spot the enemy from far and remain clothed in humility. The Holy Spirit will let you know when the cloth of humility is off, or you’re partially covered, or it starts sliding off your body. This calls for continuous fellowship with the Holy Spirit. 
3. Pray that God may help you remain humble continuously. Do this on a daily basis, with the understanding of how much God hates pride. Daily disciplined prayer session is an indication of reliance on God, as you realize that you cannot do without God. Prayer in itself helps you remain humble, as you realize it is one way of abiding or remaining in the vine (John 15). Prayer helps you realize that without Jesus, you can do nothing (John 15:5). 
4. Study the scriptures on humility, to give the Holy Spirit something to work with. Go over this sermon over and over again, as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you to produce the fruit of humility/ meekness. Again, a daily disciplined devotion will also help you remain humble, as you realize that your life is dependent on the word of God, which is the God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).
5. Surrender to the Holy Spirit. Whatever He tells you to do, do it. This is obedience and is the root of humility. If He tells you to shut up, shut up. If He tells you to speak, speak. If He tells you to persevere, do so. With the Holy Spirit as our help, we do not have an excuse to fail or walk in defeat.  As you surrender, you will undergo sufferings that are meant to help you develop humility, which are called “wilderness experiences.” This is what Peter talks about in 1 Peter 5:9-10, saying that these sufferings are experienced by our brotherhood all over the world, and after they have gone we will be perfected, established and settled. Moses became the meekest/ most humble person on earth after suffering, as stated in Numbers 12:3; he spent 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus was even more humble, having to spend 33 years on earth as a man and dying the most humiliating death (Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 11:29). Both are well known today and we all can see how God exalted them. Whatever the Holy Spirit will use to help you build humility, accept it. He may bring someone to point out your pride and tell you what to do; don’t defend yourself, just listen and thank that person, thanking God for that gesture. It is better to have that person come to you than if they went on to others to tell them about your pride. God may even send a child to correct you; accept it. He can use anything and anyone, at any time, for He is God. When trials come, don’t focus on the trials, focus on the objective/ result. Don’t focus on the “what”, focus on the “why” (James 1:2-8, Romans 5:3-4). If you do not know what to do during a trial/ suffering/ tribulation, ask for wisdom (James 1:5-8), to know what to do so that you conquer.

Other ways in which you can remain humble include:

• Know and walk in your identity. Proud people are always insecure, and have to prove a point at all times. They are empty on the inside, and want to fill the gap by self-exaltation so that no one on the outside will notice how insecure and empty they are. Humility/ meekness is not weakness; it is strength under control. Humble people know who they are and choose not to exalt themselves. In the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17), His hour had come and He knew He was going to the Father (verse 1). If you are in your last hours on earth, you do the most important things, and teach the most valuable lessons. During his last hours, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. This is to show us that this was one of His most valuable lessons. Before He did this, the Bible tell that He knew “that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,” verse 3. Jesus knew His identity, and this enabled Him to humble Himself. At the end, He told them that we also ought to wash one another’s fee (verse 14). This calls for submission and humility, as foot-washing was one of the most menial tasks in those days, done by servants when guests arrived at the house. He further said that "if you who know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (verse 17). Now that you know about humility, blessed are you if you walk in humility, by the grace of God. This is in relation with Matthew 5:5, which says that “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” and Psalm 37:11, that tells us that "the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Humility will help you walk on the path of your destiny, and inherit all that the Father had purposed for you -- all that belongs to you as a son. Before this happens, you have to realize that you are a son and walk in humility. Other lessons on humility and servanthood are in Mark 10: 14-15, 42-45, Matthew 20:25-28.

• Receive the love of God. 1 Corinthians 13 describes the God kind of love, and verse 4b says that love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.” God is love, and so when you know that you have this love and get to experience His love you receive His fullness (Ephesians 3:19). Meditating on, knowing and walking in the God kind of love (Agape love, charity) will produce humility in you. You realize that you did not do anything for God to love you as He does, that you were not so lovable or lovely, but He just chose to create you as an object of His love. When you realize this, you can’t help it but walk in humility. Knowing that God was not obligated to create or love you but He still chose to will cause you to walk in humility. None of us was worthy or even close to being lovable, "But God demonstrated His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8. If you know for a fact deep inside you that God loved you while you while a nobody and put your interests above His esteeming you highly than Himself, you will have no problem loving others who are "unlovable" or putting the interests of others above yours, or esteeming others higher than yourself. The God kind of love in you will produce humility, but first it has to be recognized, revealed and meditated on.

All in all, keep in mind Who your role model in humility is, and fix your eyes on Him: 

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

In every situation, ask yourself What Would Jesus Do? That’s how you keep your eyes on Him.

If you want to remain on the path of your destiny, you have to remain clothed with humility, or else God will oppose you, meaning you cannot ever achieve your purpose on earth without humility. Nebuchadnezzar learnt the hard way, was taken off the path of destiny for 7 years, being forced to live with animals all this while, until He got humble and gave glory to God. King Herod was struck by God and was eaten by worms to death, because of pride and not giving God glory (Acts 12:20-24). 

Always remember to give glory to God for whatever comes your way, always saying like Paul that “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain,” 1 Corinthians 15:10.

Amen. 

-- Sam Gitonga. 

(7/7/13 Sunday Service Sermon, Africa Transformation Mission. Pramukh Plaza, 6th Floor.)

Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.