How do you humble yourself before the Lord? Meditate on exactly what occurred at Calvary, and you’ll be inviting the spirit of humility. Kneel before the cross with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving.
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I want you to think about this Bible verse.
I’ve been memorizing in Colossians 1, and every time I recite the 7th verse, I have got to pause. It’s just [how can I put it], it’s just mind-blowing. I mean, listen to this, the Word of God says, “[For] he [that is, Jesus] he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Now just think about that. Take a look up at the night sky. Jesus, who set suns and stars spinning in motion, who dreamed up not just our galaxy, which is one hundred thousand light-years across, but a billion other galaxies the Hubble telescope will never photograph; this Jesus who “determines the numbers of the stars” and “calls them each by name,” is holding it all together by the power of his word. And by that word, he named each one; he dreamt up names that would fit each star and its uniqueness. Right now, he is holding all things together in your shoulder: the sinews, the bone, the tendons, the joint.
And think of the Lord Jesus when he was on the cross. Even then, he was holding all things together, commanding the sun to set, the moon to rise. Jesus held together by his word the arm of the one who flogged him. When he was being crucified, he did not suspend his commands for squirrels to hibernate or for birds to fly south. In fact, he held together the hands of the Roman soldiers that hammered spikes into his wrists. As Colossians 1 says, he is before all things and in him, all things hold together, even the flesh, blood, and brains of the people who scoffed him and turned their backs on him. Worst of all, this same Jesus bore his Father’s wrath against you and your sin when he hung on the cross.
Amazing love! I mean, how can it be that God should plunge the knife in his own chest for me and you—for us who fall asleep when we’re trying to read the Bible; for us who think about the laundry basket when we’re praying; Christ died for us, yes, we who yawn when we take the Lord’s supper, making a mental note to get a manicure when we lift the Communion cup to our mouth. This is what I’ve been thinking about as I’ve memorized Colossians 1. And I say to myself, “Oh, Joni, if you could, you should fall in the dust, wearing sackcloth and ashes. Jesus, the one who holds together everything by the power of his word is worth nothing less than your complete devotion, every minute of the day!”
But I know that even with the grace of God, I will never rise to that, at least here on earth I won’t. And that’s why what Jesus did on his cross is so much more astounding than I can possibly grasp. So, I do what James 4 says, I humble myself before the Lord. Rather, like King Manasseh in the Old Testament, I humble myself greatly before the Lord. And the only way we can do that is to look away from us and look to Jesus. Humility is just another word for the little-last-least-lost position we hold when gazing at Christ. How do you humble yourself before the Lord? Well, I can say this. Start by meditating on exactly what occurred at Calvary, and you’ll then be inviting the spirit of humility. So, let’s join Jesus in making ourselves of no reputation and kneeling before the cross with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving. And bless you for letting me share such amazing hope with you today.
© Joni and Friends