“I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me.” Jonah 2:2
I walked along a grassy path between two fields for almost one mile. I reached a line of trees and stood viewing the field before me, to the left, corn over my head; to the right, soybeans under my knees. I knelt down, knees into the grass, and extended my arms overhead.
“Father, help me.”
When is the last time you cried out to our Father in Heaven? Have you ever literally, gone to your knees and cried out to Him in distress? In praise? In thanksgiving?
Writing this, you probably think I do it all the time and always have. Think again. I was probably in my late thirties before I ever humbled myself to turn to the Lord for help. I always went at it alone, shows more strength, right? I mean crying out for help means admitting defeat, admitting I can’t get it all right, admitting, I can’t solve every problem in my life or better yet, it means I am owning I may have messed up in some way.
I recall back to maybe the first time I ever did this humbling act. I was in a small home in a small town several years ago. I found myself in a place of utter despair. So many pieces of my life didn’t look the way I wanted yet I was blessed beyond measure in so many other ways. I had an ache within me related to one particular situation in my life that I just couldn’t fix on my own. I’d tried it all and came up short every time. God knew, He listened to my complaints, He heard my cries, but they all missed one element. Humility.
Humility, a modest opinion of one’s own importance 1.
This particular day, as I folded myself up on my knees and wept in the bathroom, I made myself low. I lifted my problem high. I handed my problem back to the one who could solve it and I asked Him to show me what I needed to do. It was a decision that changed everything. It was a moment of surrender and an attitude I have had to maintain since for each struggle I face.
So, I’m all fixed up, right? NOPE! Once I escaped that valley, enjoyed the mountain top view for a while, I entered another valley! Before you realize it, you are in the valley again, trucking along thinking you have things covered when you start to realize resistance and struggle has arrived again. If you are like me, I catch myself thinking, “What? I already left the valley, I am enjoying mountain top view Father, what gives?” “Oh little one,” He probably sighs. Until you realize that is what life is full of, ups and downs. The need to surrender never stops. A need for humility at every turn.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10
How can we be “lifted” up if we aren’t brought low? We often blame our life and circumstances or other people for making us feel “low,” but God…. He is asks us to make ourselves low and not look to the world “…..That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6
To be proud is to have or show a high opinion of oneself or one’s importance.2 The complete opposite of being humble. Remember Ecclesiastes 3 which talks about “A Time for Everything” ? Isn’t there a time to be focused on self?
“The Lord detests all the proud of heart.” Proverbs 16:5
Truth is, our world encourages us to focus on ourselves, our needs, our wants, our desires, our feelings. But God…. He asks us to focus on Him. Recall His first command:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
And the second: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22: 37-38
That doesn’t mean we make ourselves lower than those around us, which would be making them our idols. No, it means we make ourselves “lower” than God. Then, He will show us how to love our neighbor as ourselves.
So, facing those fields of growing crops under that sunny, blue sky with my knees pressed into the ground and my face and arms lifted up, I chose to make myself low and lift God high. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I knew I was finally where He needed me to shift some pieces in my life to bring joy again.
“Father, help me,” I whispered.
Are you facing a situation that has taken your peace? Seek out a place, fall to your knees, lift your face and call out to the Lord. He will listen. He will answer. When He does, don’t forget to return to that place and give Him praise.
Father, Today I Surrender:
My Humility
Show me the next step I should take.
Surrendering with you, Julie