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Written by Sarah Frazer, a contemporary writer.

Humility means we have an honest view of ourselves and God. One of the things I love about God is that He is both all-powerful and holy. We have a God who sits on the throne of Heaven, orchestrating the entire universe. Colossians says He keeps everything going by the power of His hands. Nothing escapes God’s notice, control, and wisdom. God is perfect in all His ways, and only those who are also holy are allowed to enter into His presence. Another aspect of God’s character evident throughout the entire Bible is God’s closeness to us. Our God also knows Himself, so we can understand and find Him. God is described as our Shepherd, Father, and Teacher. Having a relationship with us is a priority for our all-powerful God. God demonstrated this through Jesus, who was willing to humble Himself for our sakes. We tend to fall on one side or the other as we approach God. Either we think we need to see ourselves only as disgraced, unlovable beings before a holy, perfect God, or we call ourselves “worms” or “enemies” of God, even after we become Christians. Sometimes, we don’t speak up or speak out because we have a false sense of humility. Thinking low of ourselves is not humility. We do this because we fear the other side of the coin: pride. The Bible warns us repeatedly about pride, which is thinking too highly of ourselves…In our attempts to avoid pride, as we should, we have a false sense of humility. A correct, Biblical view of humility falls in the middle of both views. Although we recognize that we came to God from a state of utter helplessness and God is beyond our ability to reach on our own, God humbled Himself so that we now stand with Jesus as co-heirs and children of God…Yes, we are sinners in need of grace. However, as Christians, we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and understand that we are no longer enemies but friends of God. Our standing before God changes the instant we accept Christ as our Savior. Because our standing before God changes, we can now humbly come before God properly. We do not exalt ourselves above God, but we do not degrade ourselves. Humility means we let God lift us; we are one of God’s children, no matter our standing before the world.

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who, in every respect, has been tempted as we are, without sin. Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:15-16]

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Written by A.B. Simpson (1843-1919), a Canadian preacher, theologian, and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Days of Heaven and Earth.”

Often the Lord calls us aside from our work for a season, and bids us be still and learn ere we go forth again to minister. There is no time lost in such waiting hours. Fleeing from his enemies, the ancient knight found that his horse needed to be re-shod. Prudence seemed to urge him on without delay, but higher wisdom taught him to halt a few minutes at the blacksmith’s forge by the way, to have the shoe replaced; and although he heard the feet of his pursuers galloping hard behind, yet he waited those minutes until his charger was refitted for his flight. And then, leaping into his saddle just as they appeared a hundred yards away, he dashed away from them with the fleetness of the wind, and knew that his halting had hastened his escape. So often God bids us tarry ere we go, and fully recover ourselves for the next stage of the journey and work.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. [Isaiah 40:31]

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Written by Kara Stout, a contemporary writer. This prayer is an excerpt from her book “Untroubled Heart.”

Life so often feels out of our control. In truth, most of life is out of our control. There are some painful seasons or experiences when we especially struggle with not being able to control or change our circumstances, which leaves us confused, anxious, and disheartened. From our viewpoint, it’s hard to make sense of it. I have been through a several-years-long course of learning I am not in control, from losing both of my parents to cancer, to struggling with infertility, to the ups and downs of our adoption journey. I did what I could within each of these circumstances — I prayed, researched, sought the expertise of doctors, looked into treatment plans — but ultimately, the outcome was up to God. It was hard not to desire more control. I so desperately wished there was something more I could do to make those situations feel less chaotic and heartbreaking. But I realized the best thing for me to do was surrender because, in every circumstance, each heartache was building my faith and deepening my trust in God. The more I surrendered, the more peace I felt. God is the One in control, better at governing it all than we could ever be. His ways are perfect and good. This doesn’t always mean they feel good, but we can still trust they are because God is good. He never abandons us while we wrestle to try and understand. He carries us through by His love, and He changes our perspective by His grace. He transforms us, making us more into the likeness of Christ. 

Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done. [Luke 22:42]

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Written by Uli Chi, a contemporary author, entrepreneur, mentor, and business leader. This is an excerpt from his book “The Wise Leader.”

We live in a media-filled world that seeks our attention. Social media measures its success by the number of eyeballs captured. Attention has become the currency of our digital age. Our attention—or lack thereof—drives advertising, product placement, and even product design. Where our eyes go, modern marketing follows. And consequently, modern marketing desires to determine where our eyes should go. What we pay attention to matters. What we look at—and how we “see” what we look at—shapes who we become. Jesus knew this. As he memorably taught in the Sermon on the Mount, our “eye,” our “heart,” and our “treasure” all affect one another. What we focus on, what we desire, and what we value are all deeply interconnected. But our eyes are critical. Our attention requires our attention.

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” [Matthew 6:22–23]

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Written by Jennifer Tucker, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from her book “Breath Prayer.”

At the root of my fear is a lack of trust in the heart of God. When the story of my life isn’t unfolding the way I thought it would, when a season of suffering lingers longer than I think I can bear, when the news is too bad and bills are too high and tasks are too hard and the pain is too much — when everything looks lost and nothing seems right — it can be hard to see or understand the heart of God. And it’s difficult to trust what we don’t understand. But His ways are not at all like ours. There is always more happening than we can see. Just look at Jesus: the Hope of the world born in the form of a vulnerable infant, the way of salvation forged through significant suffering. What looked like utter death and defeat on the cross was really the way to ultimate life and salvation. What looked like the end was really the beginning of all things being made new. So that hard thing we don’t understand? That pain we fear may break us? It may turn out to be the tool for our rescue. The storm that threatens to drown us may actually be the path to freedom. When we shift the way we see our suffering and trust the heart of God, we can let go of fear and be filled with peace because we know that He is working even if we don’t understand.

See, God has come to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. [Isaiah 12:2]

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From the Community of the Beatitudes, a contemplative and missionary community founded in France in 1973.

Lord, you know everything, you see everything… Free us from the power of the world, from its deadly, materialistic, consumerist ideas, that may dwell in our heart and in the community. Free me from myself, from my ideas, from my external and internal slavery (from bad addictions, from wounds that return to haunt me, from the tyranny of my emotions and my sensitivity, from my sins, from the dictatorship of my desires, of my excesses, etc.), of all idolatry and all control. I come to you, Jesus the free Man par excellence, for you are the only true Way of my freedom!

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  [2 Corinthians 3:17]

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Written by Mark Roberts, a contemporary writer.

If you want to receive, clarify, craft, and live your purpose in life, then pay attention to your generativity. What is generativity? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “generativity” as “a need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to the next generation.” Generativity could be described as a deep desire to leave a legacy for the future, not just a financial legacy, but a legacy of excellence, example, empowerment, and encouragement. The significance of generativity was first emphasized by developmental psychologist Erik Erikson. In his earlier writings, he saw generativity as crucial for middle-adulthood, ages 40-65. But as he got older, Erikson recognized that a concern for generativity remains strong beyond age 65… You may already be in touch with your generativity. If you are a grandparent, for example, you are likely concerned about the future of your grandchild (or grandchildren), and not just their personal future, but also the future of the world in which they will live. You are eager to make a difference in their lives and their world, a difference that will endure long after you are gone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. [Psalm 71:17-18]

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Written by Chelsea Logan, a contemporary writer and church planter.

The story of creation gives us a powerful reminder that it’s through the waters of chaos and nothingness that God brings forth creation and new life. In those spaces and places that feel the most void, the least purposeful, and often the most painful, God is already at work creating and redeeming. As one theologian put it, “The anxieties that torment me as I face the insecurity of my existence and the dark curtain of the future become the raw material from which I let God build my trust and my faith.” The chaos we experience, in Christ, becomes fertile ground for creation. And while this is by no means easy, trusting in the Lord means knowing and expecting God to take the soups of nothingness in our lives and transform them into works of divine creation.

When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. [Genesis 1:1-2]

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Written by Brian Morykon, a contemporary writer.

Jesus preached and demonstrated the Kingdom of Heaven, the realm where justice and wholeness are the norm. So, it makes sense that following Jesus means doing outward things that help bring God’s Kingdom to our corner of Earth. What that looks like day to day will be different for each of us according to our life season and unique calling. But it’ll look like something. And if we’re doing the outward stuff, we better also be doing the inward stuff and together stuff—solitude and sabbath and worship, the practices Jesus modeled and taught. Inner work, like outward work, is much easier to talk about than to do. And it’s easy to confuse the talking for the doing …  The full and good life Christ offers us is a balance of outward, inward, and together. So let’s be intentional about actually doing all the stuff. Together. With God. 

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. [2 Corinthians 3:2]

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Written by Robert Collyer [1823-1912], an American pastor.

If Job could have known as he sat there in the ashes, bruising his heart on this problem of Providence—that in the trouble that had come upon him he was doing what one man may do to work out the problem for the world, he might again have taken courage. No man lives to himself. Job’s life is but your life and mine written in larger text….So, then, though we may not know what trials wait on any of us, we can believe that, as the days in which Job wrestled with his dark maladies are the only days that make him worth remembrance, and but for which his name had never been written in the book of life, so the days through which we struggle, finding no way, but never losing the light, will be the most significant we are called to live.

So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. [2 Timothy 2:10]

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