Bowing Down...and Being Lifted Up

What is it about us humans? We hate to be dependent on others. When we men get lost on a highway, we rarely ask for directions. And often avoid going to the doctor.

And all of us are bent towards idolatry -- leaning towards a dependence on what we can do or what we can see rather than on the living God. As I read continue reading the Old Testament each morning, that message seems to be in bold print -- mankind defaults towards idolatry.

In a rather frightening passage that I read this morning, King Belshazzar throws a huge party and then makes a brash move. He called in the silver and gold cups that were stolen from the Temple, began drinking wine from them and he and his cronies offered toasts to the gods of gold, silver, bronze, etc. Bad move. He literally saw the writing on the wall, trembled with fear, and called in Daniel to interpret the message. Daniel reminds him of his predecessor, whom the Lord humbled, and then gives this rebuke: "You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself...you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!" -- Dan. 5:22, 23b

Before the night was over, this "mighty kind of Babylon" was killed and replaced by another king.

James 4 came to mind as asked God to speak to me through this story. "When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor."

Jim Cymbala, the pastor of dynamic Brooklyn Tabernacle, has an annual habit of reading the book Humility by Andrew Murray. When I picked up this book off my shelf a few minutes ago, I noticed how much I highlighted this book. I can see why Cymbala reads it so often.

One quick quote:

Humility is not a thing that will come on its own. It must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice. Let us believe that , when we are broken down under a sense of our pride, and realize our inability to cast it out, Jesus Christ Himself will give us this grace as a part of His wondrous life with us. (pp. 13-14)

O, Father, help us walk humbly before You -- like Your Son, Jesus.

Jim