When I was asked by KWE ( Kingdom Women Entrepreneur) to write a blog for them , I immediately thought of writing about the one quality God has been teaching me a lot on in the past few years since I became saved : Humility. Not thinking too highly of oneself , or that you are better than others. Not thinking that your ways are better than God’s. Not thinking that you yourself is at God’s level or are god. Bible defines humility as fear of the Lord. When we have humility, God blesses us with honor, riches, and life. (Proverbs 22:4)
Before I was saved, I lacked humility. Why ? Because I was doing things my way , and I was not submitted to anyone, or any higher authority. I was my own god, doing things as my flesh desired. Therefore, back when I lacked humility, what I had a lot of was pride. I believe pride is one of the greatest sin there is. Satan had a lot of pride in his heart, that he wanted to become God. (Isaiah 14:12-15) Adam and Eve had a lot of pride in their hearts as well when they ate the fruit from the tree of good and evil, with the promise that they will become like God in wisdom from the serpent. (Genesis 3:5-6) Both disobeyed the command and Word of God, and regarded their own ways higher than His. And of course, as a result, we know what happened.
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall," (Proverbs 16:18 )
Humility entails many things . Humility means knowing our place in this vast world. Knowing the hierarchy and being down to earth Knowing that God is higher and sovereign, and being thankful for that fact and recognizing it. Knowing that we are not capable of accomplishing great feats without His strength, favor and grace. And being aware of our true sinful proclivities, and that without Him, we would easily fall into temptations and lead ourselves to ruin. We are not wiser than God after all. And His ways are higher than our ways.
And with humility, a person is more obedient, teachable and submitted to God and His word. And at the same time , he or she is fearful of the divine consequences of not following His commands in all aspects concerning life. Bible says that there are blessings attached to one’s obedience and humility, and curses on one’s disobedience and pride.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
The events leading to my conversion were pretty dramatic. Believe it or not , I had to be humbled by God in the most dramatic fashion. In 2013, God stripped me of my good health, which made me come face to face with my own mortality. Before this, I was living in the world, with only my own flesh and the world as my guide. I thought I was invincible, and was going to live forever.
I was also too proud of my accomplishments, and gave all credit to myself. But after having thyroid cancer, I realized how fragile life can be, and how I was wasting my life living just for me. I remember laying in bed thinking about my
impending doom, and how deep down I knew at the time, that if I had passed away, I would have perished eternally. But God gave me a second chance: I became free of thyroid cancer after 5 years.
Lots of people in my circle prayed for me, and that’s when I decided to go to church as I felt Him drawing me closer and closer to Him. My miraculous healing led me to believe that I still have purpose on this earth, and that a higher power was to be credited to this healing .
That encounter with death made me realize as well, my real place on earth. I was not invincible after all. And my accomplishments turn out, were not even mine. My life was at the mercy of a just, loving , sovereign God. Since then, I’ve decided to follow Him, although I still struggle with my own flesh from time to time, as we all do. I decided to live my life following His commands, and fulfilling the kingdom call He has on my life. I found that this is the wiser thing to do.
I believe God cannot use anyone who’s heart is full of pride . One’s heart has to be moldable, and soft to be able to be used by Him for His kingdom purposes and to serve. And one’s mind must be teachable in order to be led by Him. One must be also humble enough to yield his or her will to God’s will. I thank God that He provided a perfect model of humility in His son, Christ Jesus.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:3-11
Humility is knowing that all this is not even about us; it’s all about Jesus. It’s about being obedient to Him, even to the point of death (sometimes), if need be. It’s seeing the value of others, and not thinking we are of more value than them. It’s loving others as Christ has loved us, and serving them like Him. It’s trusting Him with our life and believing He won’t lead us astray. It’s living not just for ourselves , but for others. Just like Jesus did.
Denise
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Denise Mayang is a Jesus lover, believer, servant, and artist for God. She believes that her talents are meant to be used for God’s glory and to point people to Jesus and so she founded the art ministry “ His Love Shines Bright.” Denise practices multiple artistic disciplines including graphic design, painting, hand lettering, and jewelry making. She also serves her local community in Las Vegas, and does homeless ministry with her fiance. You can follow her faith and art journey on IG (@hisloveshinesbright) or support her art ministry by shopping her Etsy and Society 6 shops (HisLoveShinesBright )
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