The more I read the word of God, the more it is evident that our ways are not His ways. Far too often in biblical stories you see the gap between how people viewed a situation or themselves and how God viewed them or their situation, the results are always drastically different. When we are able to see life the way God views it, we are able to handle it well including its challenges. Our difficulties often stem from the fact that we do not appreciate our situation rightly, in other words, we are not humble. However, humility is the call of the Christian, it is the posture of those who fear the LORD. One of the verse this week from the YouVersion Bible App said, “The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4). This is just one example of many passages in the Bible that promises great blessings to the humble. Despite knowing the blessings attached to humility, we seldom practice it. At best, we fake it, wrapping it with religious activities all the while forgetting that the LORD sees our hearts. Far from causing any guilt or bring condemnation, my intent is to exhort us to lay aside any self-appreciation of ourselves and of our world including the worldly counsel that calls us to look inwardly and instead, let us look outwardly to the One who humbled himself to the point of death, even death on the cross (Philippians 2:8).
One of the famous passages in the book of Ezekiel is his vision of the “valley of the dry bones” where God brought Ezekiel to this place filled with dry bones. These were bones that had been there for a long while. We are told the bones were “very dry” (Ezekiel 37:2) denoting their hopeless state. God proceeded to ask Ezekiel if the bones could live, and Ezekiel answered that only He knew. Ezekiel had answered correctly for indeed only God knew. God then commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones so they could live and as Ezekiel prophesied and prophesied, the bones lived, and stood on their feet, becoming greater than an army (Ezekiel 37:7-10). That scene was a powerful display of the saving power of the Great I Am, the power that does not have any limit on whom it can save. As incredible as that miracle was, what caught my attention this week was who the bones represented. In verse eleven of that chapter, God tells Ezekiel that the dry bones represented the house of Israel. This is how the LORD viewed His people. The people of His flock had become “dry bones”, ones that are unsalvageable. What is surprising is that Israel viewed itself in a similar manner. They said, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off” (Ezekiel 37:11). Israel was humble enough to realise that they had no hope. Indeed, the Israelites were in captivity and seeing their fate, they appeared to have come to their senses. They finally came down from their pedestal, realising they could no longer boast as “the people of God”. This humility caused the LORD to declare restoration for Israel. He showed the vision to Ezekiel to remind His people that He is mighty to save, that nothing is beyond saving with Him, that there is always hope for the humble, the one who fears Him. This vision of the valley of dry bones was for the people of Israel to “know that the LORD is the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:14).
Salvation is only possible when there is humility. Jesus did not say “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” for no reasons (Matthew 5:3). One has to recognize his or her need for a saviour before accepting the offer of deliverance at the table. When we look at the life of our LORD and saviour Jesus Christ, we see a man who humbled himself for the sake of others–that is all the people in the whole wide world. These people were his enemies and as the Israelites where dry bones, so were they. These people include us. Indeed, Ephesians tells us that we “were dead in our transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, italics mine). If it were not for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we would not have any hope of being reconciled with God; we would not have any hope of having our sins forgiven; we would not have any hope of being restored; we would not have any hope of being freed from the bondage of sin and debt; we would not have life. However, the key to receiving this hope is to humble ourselves enough and recognize that we are indeed sinners, transgressors and enemies of God, repenting of our sins and realizing like David that it is against God and God only that we have sinned and done what is evil in His sight (Psalm 51:4). To receive the salvation of God, you must realize that you cannot save yourself, that you are not powerful enough to save yourself, but must rely on God alone to save you; you have to realize that God is not just your helper, He is your sustainer; without Him you can do nothing. This humility is not just needed for the salvation of Christ that brings you into His kingdom, but it is also necessary for the daily life as ambassadors of the kingdom of God while on earth. Humility is the attitude of the redeemed, the saved; it is not a one-time habit, but a daily one. There are many scriptures that command us to be humble and not proud because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Who can stand a fight against this Mighty God? The wise thing would be to not engage or provoke Him but simply obey.
In closing, let us live in the consciousness of our sinful nature, learning to submit to the spirit rather than the flesh (Romans 8:5-11). May we be spirit-led people and not carnal people. May the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) be the fruits we display as we engage in our day-to-day life. May we be people who bring the very presence of God in a place because we submit to Him, obey His commands and love our neighbour as ourselves. The Lord is at hand, let us not love the world so much so as to hate God as James tells us that friendship with the world is hatred toward God (James 4:4). Help us O LORD to abide in you, to honour you with all that we have and to live under your Lordship over our lives. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 