We Need Humilty!

What does mean to be humble? With all of the seminars, books, and videos that tell us to "Believe in yourself", "You can create your own reality if you can just visualize it", it's no wonder why people today have very little or no humility at all. I am by no means advocating apathy, and not having confidence in one's abilities, but like most things we do as humans, we take it to the extreme.

Too often many are overconfident in themselves to the degree that many believe they are better than those who they feel have not reached their status in life - money, education, corporate success, etc.

Humble by definition means one of low degree, one of a lowly spirit. These are adjective forms of the word. This perfectly describes Jesus who said that he was gentle and humble in heart (Matt 11:29).

To have humility is not a bad word. Some have misunderstood the term believing that to be humble is to exhibit weakness, to not have a backbone. To become a doormat.

No. Rather a humble person knows that they do not have win every argument. I believe also a humble person is a peacemaker and a fair leader - one who is willing to go the extra mile to smooth things out between adverse situations. They are looking for a better way to handle things instead of yelling and cursing and fighting to get their way.

I felt it important to discuss humility in light of everything happening with our corrupt government and the recent natural disasters the nation and other nations have and are experiencing.

I know there are an innumerable amount of people blaming God for all the catastrophes happening in our world right now. With the all the earthquakes and hurricanes hitting areas like Puerto Rico, the Carribean Islands, Turk and Caicos, Houston, TX, the state of  Florida, Mexico, et al, many believe God does not care so they are cursing his name, or have resolved in their minds that he is not real so what is the point in calling out to him.

The Prophet Daniel had a different mindset regarding the exile of the nation Israel. Daniel knew why they were in captivity. So what did Daniel do? He humbled himself and petitioned the Lord.

In Daniel 9:3-20 we read the following, 

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand your truth.

14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and has gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for your great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for your city and thy people are called by your name.

20 And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

We see here that Daniel made himself a committee of one to intercede to God on behalf of the nation Israel. Daniel understood why they were enslaved by their enemies; because of the disobedience of their fathers. He made it clear in verse five: We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments.

Daniel didn't get angry and curse and blaspheme God; rather he beseeched and petitioned God to forgive the nation Israel and to pardon their sin for his holy name's sake. In other words, Daniel asked God to forgive Israel in spite of their sinful rebellious ways - not because they deserved it, but because God is merciful (v 18). 

This is one of the greatest displays of humility ever recorded not just in the scripture but in human history. When we read further in Daniel chapter nine, you discover that the angel Gabriel gives Daniel understanding regarding the future of the nation.

We must learn from Daniel's outstanding humility and character. The U.S. and the world are in the mess it is in because of its countless sins. It's not God's fault things are happening the way they are - it's ours. We as a nation has turned its back on God. As a result, we are being judged in the form of earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. These calamities should serve as a wake-up call and cause us to fear God and cry out to him for repentance and mercy, but the pleasures of sin have a way of lulling people to sleep - making us dull and insensitive to God's clear warnings that he is angry.  The moment we realize that as a nation, we should collectively get on our knees and implore God's forgiveness like Daniel did 2500 years ago for the nation Israel.

Will the U.S. ever do that? I doubt it. Why? Because it is too proud. This U.S. is rushing headlong into hell unless she repents.

Listen to the wisdom in the following verses:

Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 29:23 - A man's pride will bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.

James 4:6b - God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 6:17 - God hates a proud or arrogant look.

Psalm 9:17 - The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.

Matthew 23:12 - And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Jesus speaking). 

A humble man is a righteous man. He will not be quick to point the finger at others when he knows the problems he is facing is most likely because of his own sins. He will cry out to God for mercy - realizing that the Lord is the solution, not the problem.

A self-righteous man is blind and will point the finger at everyone else for his problems except himself. That is why he will be brought low, or made to be humble or humiliated because of his sinful pride. 

Do we want things to get better as a nation? Then we must do what Daniel did, humble ourselves and pray.

The Lord speaking to King Solomon uttered these timeless words:

If my people, who are called by name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will hear their land. 

Now, this promise was made directly to the nation Israel, but I believe that by extension America can hear from the Lord if we humble ourselves and pray to the God who has and is blessing this nation daily despite its unfaithfulness to God.

And finally, the humble heart is never self-reliant, they are petitioners. They are people of prayer; they are intercessors like Christ, Daniel, and the prophets of old along with the apostles. They know who their source is and where their help comes from (Heb 4:16).

The proud and arrogant heart are those that are self-righteous. They are like Nebuchadnezzar who in Daniel chapter four said the following prideful words, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty" (Dan 4:30)?

The Bible says that same hour Nebuchadnezzar was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox. His body was wet with dew from heaven. His hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws (Dan 4:33). The king suffered a psychological disorder called Boanthropy. Those with this condition believe they are a cow or an ox so they graze and eat grass. If you do not humble yourself, God will humiliate you. This happened to the king for seven years until his mind was restored. Fortunately for Nebuchadnezzar, he repented and praised God and gave him thanks for all things (Dan 4:34-37).

I hope those that read this realize humility is not a weakness but a strength.
Humble people pray and are exalted by God. Proud people only brag and are brought low by God.