But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."-James 4:6 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:1-5) Have we ever considered why the Bible speaks of humility as a virtue? Consider the traits we seem to think are important in our world, at least according to the media we always watch: confidence, beauty, talent, a sincere heart (even if it gets one in to trouble), success, money, power, aquiring of nice things. Aren't these the virtues the world holds high? Consider then that, perhaps, worldly attributes are opposing to godly ones. It is not in vain that Romans 12:1-2 says to present ourselves as living sacrifices and reminds us "Do not be conformed to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that by testing, you may know what is the will of God, what is good, and pleasing, and perfect." My Fellow Humans: can we admit that we have a tendency to be self absorbed? Can we admit that the constant question in the back of our mind, even when approaching almighty God is "What's in it for me?" We forget who our God is. Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.” (Psalm 9:6-11)
When we, in our pride, resist God, we miss out on His blessings. The Psalmist reminds us that when we resist God, we gain no inheritance. So what is the Solution? It is repeated twice in this psalm: let us Worship and Bow Down. It is as we raise God to the throne, approach in humility, and seek his face in all things that He can give us what He desires. When we are arrogant, acting as spoiled children, it's not that we cannot receive, it's that when we do, we ask "is this all?" just as the children of Israel did in the wilderness. We need to bow before the Lord our God. We need to be humble in His presence, then we can truly embrace the gifts and promises He brings us.
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