Elevation Through Humiliation

Current Mood: Anointed & On Fire 4 God!

There are times when it’ll seem like God has dropped you off in the middle of the wilderness, just like you drop off a friend at work, and then drives off.   And there you are, standing in the middle of nowhere, feeling alone and afraid, not knowing what to do or what to expect.  Making matters worse is He didn’t tell you when He’ll be back to pick you up or how long you’ll be there.   All you know is that you’re in a foreign land that seems barren, dry and lifeless, and you look around to see who else is there just to discover nobody else is there, only YOU. 

So there you are in heart of the wilderness trying to grasp your new reality, and those who once said, “I got your back” are suddenly unavailable.  For whatever reasons, you no longer have friends or family to count on; while others mock you and laugh at you.  Unbeknownst to you, they secretly held jealousy and animosity against you because they perceived you as having “everything”.  Now that you look like you’re in dire straits, they think you’re getting back everything you deserve.  As you hear their accusations and judgments, a part of you begin to believe what they’re saying though you know it’s untrue.  A part of you begin to feel as they feel; nevertheless, you cry out to God saying, “What have I done?  Show me so that I may correct it?”  But all you get is deafening silence in return.

Perplexed and afraid, you begin your journey not knowing what to expect ahead.  A part of you feel upset with God because you’re not getting immediate responses at it pertains to your new situation; yet another part of you know that something great is happening though you can’t quite put your finger on it.  As you continue along your journey, you try your best to encourage yourself by quoting every Scripture you know, but nothing seems to work.  You sing hymns and songs in hopes of lifting your spirit, but you still feel down.  You are hungry, thirsty, your legs are getting tired and your spirit feels as though it’s becoming faint, yet you persevere.  Then here comes Satan, taking advantage of your time of vulnerability to try to convince you that you’re a fool and God doesn’t care.  He throws his darts of doubt to try to get you to agree that really God isn’t with or for you.  And though you can’t see any traces of God’s presence at this point, you hold your ground but you can’t help but wonder where is your God.   Next thing you know you’re feeling heavier than you were and a part of you feels like giving up.

Just when you think you cannot take it anymore, you hear a still small voice.  You are elated.  In your mind you think, “He’s finally here to rescue me”, and you begin to leap for joy.  Your heart is filled with praise and thanksgiving; however, that is cut short once you stop to really pay attention to what He’s saying to you.  “My child, continue to go forward; for My grace is sufficient for you”.  “Huh?”  You feel the tears welling up in your eyes as you desperately hope you’ve misunderstood what He’s said.  He repeats, “Go forward.  My grace is sufficient for you”.  You think to yourself, “All this time I’ve waited to hear from Him and this is what You say?”  These were not the words you hoped to hear and now you find yourself at a crossroad; you can either obey and follow the Lord no matter what OR you can decide to give up and leave. 

To some, this may be your testimony and to others this may serve as notice.  To all, we are all called to a higher purpose than just drifting day to day, and in order to “enter and possess” the Promised Land or to walk in our God-given purpose, we must first take a trip into the wilderness.  The wilderness is a place of preparation through testing, teaching and humbling (Deut. 8:1-5).  We are pruned, purged and stretched beyond measure.  We find out what’s really in our heart: the good, the bad and the ugly.  We may also experience crucifixion (of the flesh), isolation and humiliation; however, it’s the work that happens in the wilderness that leads to our elevation.  This is often a painful process, but the oil cannot be released until the olive is first crushed, and a seed cannot yield its fruit until it first go into the ground and die (John 12:24).  So is the same with us: before we can reign with Christ we must first suffer with Him.  And our suffering is not done in vain, for suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.  This is what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:3-5, right after he first tells us to rejoice in our suffering.

We may see someone operating in an elevated position and wish we had or could do the same.  You see them on the platform and it appears as though God is using them in a powerful way.  And He is!  However, what you don’t see is the price they’ve paid for where they are in God.  For a true servant of God, there is a crushing and a breaking that must occur in our spirit, and most people do not want to go through that process.  But the process is indeed necessary; for the higher the elevation, the greater the humiliation and true humility often develops in the wilderness.

Beloved, God has given you a particular work in His kingdom but before you’re able to operate effectively in your ministry you must first take a trip into the wilderness.  Christ went through the same process, for after the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, He was then led by that same Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 3:21-22, Luke 4:1-2).  Then once He came out of the wilderness He began His ministry.  So is the same for us.  The illustration I used at the beginning of this article, I articulated what one may feel while journeying through the wilderness.  There will be times when you feel as though God has left you and abandoned you; however, that is very far from the truth.  God is a loving and faithful Father and He is certainly a promise-keeper and He promises throughout the Bible that He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Thus, He doesn’t abandon us, but instead He gives us the grace to be refined so that we can shine like a perfect diamond.  Initially, a diamond doesn’t look like much, as it is encased in rock and dirt, and once the miners get the diamond from out the deep of the earth, that diamond has to go through extreme processing which include pressure and heat.  It also is uniquely cut so that its brilliance can shine radiantly.  The end result is that you have a precious and valuable stone, but that is only once it’s gone through the fire.

Humility does not mean that we think less of ourselves but instead think less about ourselves.  Paul admonishes us in Romans 12:3 to not think more highly of ourselves than we ought and this requires work on our part.  In addition, humility keeps us in constant remembrance that we rely on God for everything; for every gift, every talent, every ministry and everything we possess was given to us by the Most High God.  Pride says, “I did it”, “It’s all about ME”, “I am great”; whereas humility says, “It is only through Christ I can do all things.” 

In closing, the more we earnestly seek God, the more we will grow in humility if we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Humility comes with crucifying flesh and submitting ourselves unto God, and this should be a daily practice for the believer.  It doesn’t matter how high God may exalt you or what high position you have, you are still called to walk in humility.  Paul puts it quite simply in 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” 

May the grace of God keep you and may a strong determination take hold of your spirit to walk in humility and crucifixion of the flesh, daily.  May you seize your humiliation and leave your elevation to God; trusting Him, leaning on Him and depending on Him.  This I pray in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

To God Be All the Glory!

© 2010, Naima Williams. All rights reserved.