Preface:
Every
year since 2007 I have chosen a word for the year. It’s something
that my pastor in Orlando, David Uth, encouraged the congregation to
do. We would pray for a word before the New Year and through prayer
and meditation we would be given one.
Without
fail, that word ended up playing an important role in my joys and sorrows
during that year. Throughout the year God would supply me with scripture and
words of wisdom related to that word. When things were tough it
would remind me that God was with me. By the end of that year I had
noticed that I had grown in that particular area of my life. For
example if my word was love, by the end of the year I was loving more.
How it happened:
“I fear that my lesson in this lifetime is
humility….and I think that lesson is beneath me.”
Toward the middle of November during my
month of prayer and fasting, I began praying for a word for 2016. The first day I prayed I saw a vision of the
word “HUMILITY.” Immediately I was like,
“No thank you God. Can I please have another word? This past year has been hard enough. Humility will just add to my pain!!!” I kept praying and asking God for another word
but I kept getting humility.
A week after getting the word “humility”
I got the word “truth.” I was excited
for this new word choice. When I told my
small group about it my friend Jennifer said, “humility is nothing but truth,
pride is nothing but lying.” On top of
that I started meeting with the mentors I have made here in Thailand in preparation
for my training in Korea and every one of them started talking to me about the
importance of humility on the mission field.
Then when my pastor from Korea came to visit he also spoke about our
team being humble in the direction we choose for our ministry in Thailand.
The Decision:
“Pride is concerned with who is
right. Humility is concerned with what
is right.”
~Ezra T. Benson
I
finally decided to accept the word “humility” about 3 weeks after receiving it
and here is why. First, I am a very prideful
person who could actually use some humility in my life. When I say pride I mean
the ugly side of pride, one of the “Seven Deadly Sins,” not the side that is
satisfied with my choices and accomplishments or where I come from. Pride is a very ugly sin and without even
realizing it, it can catch you off guard.
It is a gateway sin that can lead you into a host of other
weaknesses.
Second,
my purpose for being in Thailand is to Empower the few Thai Christians in
Thailand to share the gospel with their fellow Thai brothers and sisters. I want to disciple Thai Christians. I want to
equip churches with resources that can strengthen families. “Empowering
people takes humility because you are helping them and they get the credit for
all you do.” (Julie Powers)
Third,
humility will teach me how to love genuinely.
When you serve someone with pride you expect something in return. When you serve someone with humility you are
living the way Jesus did. Jesus expected
nothing in return from all those He served during His time on earth. Those people loved Jesus because they wanted
to love Jesus, not because they had too.
Finally,
humility is a broken heart. To be filled
with the Spirit, we must be emptied of self.
Some of the greatest lessons I have learned have come from a broken
heart. This current lesson I am facing is
no exception. As I mentioned in my
previous blog about trust, “every prideful bone in my body wants me to lash out
with pride and get revenge." God is pouring me out completely right now so
I can be filled with His Spirit.
CONCULUSION:
“He leads the humble in what is right and
teaches the humble his way.”
~Psalm 25:9
I
know this year is going to be tough. I
have no idea where God will take me with this word. It already started before 2015 ended. Within a few days after accepting the word
God began to work on my humility. Humility
is tough because my flesh is always raging war against my spirit. Pride is of the flesh and humility is of the
spirit. I ask for your prayers as I take
on 2016. If our paths cross in 2016 I
also ask for your patience as well as I am sure I will mess up during this
learning process.
This little bunny warms my heart. He always greets me at a place I go to pray often. It's God's way of romancing me in the place I meet Him I guess. |
My Super fun Thai class from this past year! |
These girls are a special gift from God, to me during my transition into Thai life. I love this gift!! |
“She quietly expected great things to
happen to her, and no doubt that’s one of the reasons why they did.” ~Zelda
Fitzgerald
“You can choose to be kind or you can
choose to be right, but if you choose to be kind you will always be right.”
No comments:
Post a Comment