Many view humility as adopting an ‘unassuming nature’, a nature that may eventually cause us to being taken advantage of by others. While this ‘perception’ may satisfy our human logic, it is far from God’s wisdom.

A few days ago, while conversing with our Father, He revealed His thoughts on humility. In response to my telling Him, “I’m humbled…..” He said, “There it is….one of the keys to my kingdom…humility….resting in the knowledge of who I am.”

It was such a powerful statement!

As the days went by, I kept replaying those words in my mind, until the understanding of what He meant began to emerge.
You see, quite often our God will allow things to unfold in our lives – trials, situations, circumstances that will test His character in us!
But most times, our opinions of these situations say otherwise. So instead of asking, “Lord, what are you trying to teach me?” we ask, “Lord, why is this happening to me?”
We can learn a lot by observing a farmer’s approach to his crops. He will put a seedling outside for a short time, and then bring it back inside. Each time he does so, the period of time the seedling remains outside, exposed to the elements, is lengthened.

On the outside, ‘the little seedling’ is forced to face the wind, the sun, the rain, all the elements that may be perceived as being damaging to it. Yet in essence, it is the same perceived ‘bad elements’ which causes it to build its resilience to the ever changing weather patterns.
It may seem a harsh thing to do, but each day that seedling stays outside in seemingly adverse conditions, it is in fact being prepared to be firmly planted one day, so as to bring forth good fruit.

In our Father’s garden, we are that ‘little seedling’ and like it, we too need to be exposed to the elements in order to produce good fruit.
Our God knows it is through our trials, that the refining process takes place. This is evident in the book of Psalms, which says,

For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
~Psalm 66:10-12

If we choose to stay in our ‘safe houses’, our ‘comfort zones’, how then can we grow in the Lord? It is while our storms rage on that our faith, hope and trust in God is revealed. It is then our belief in God is truly put to the test. The question becomes, can we rest on our knowledge of who He is while the storm rages on? Or will we allow the storm to destroy us?

So no matter what life throws at us, we must ‘rest’; we must stay humble, we must take our refuge, our rest in who He is and not who we are…. . We must trust that everything that concerns us is of concern to our Father, and that concept must culminate into the realization that His ways and His thoughts are not ours.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
~Isaiah 55:8

We must rest in the promise as outlined in Isaiah 55:11, that His word shall not return to Him void, but it will do what He says it will do!

It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
~Isaiah 55:11

We must be reassured of what He says in Jeremiah:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
~ Jeremiah 29:11

It is when we can find comfort in His words, in His promises and then walk in that new found comfort, and not what the world says, then we understand what it means to be humble…..
So my prayer is that you begin to find your rest in the knowledge of who your God is….that you put on a garment of humility and you stand on your faith and prove Him!