humility | Sherry's A Labour of Love

Green Back Walleye; one of so many…..2025. Bucket list checked off. No Fear!

There are so many things in life to be afraid of, loss, loneliness, criticism, uncertainties, future, past haunts, temptations, judgements, and losing ones voice. I often sit back and consider my own concerns or fears and remind myself that there truly is nothing in this world I need to fear if I am in Christ. Reminding myself that He gave me the breath of life, He brought me into this world, He guides my paths, He has chosen me to be a daughter, a granddaughter, a wife, a mother and a friend. He has chosen my path in this life and I just need to be patient, be encouraged, be hopeful, and faithful in knowing that nothing in the path I walk is a mistake in God’s plan. It may look different than I had hoped for or expected, yet it is His perfect plan and I will not fight against it.

I have been thinking lately about Christian liberty and moral self righteousness in the context of righteous anger. It’s an interesting concept, and when you really think about it, there is a temptation into thinking that one is acting with indignation to a cause in support of what they deem to be the moral high ground in their faith. Curiously I ask if it really is? I mean, what is the path taken to get the end result of what one expects? Is it a path of destruction, character assasinations and broken hearts? Is it a path of bitterness, anger, pride and stiff necks? Oh the pondering I do to try to explain that which I witness, and experience in witnessing others behaviors. It seems that in each situation, the main culprits of sin include and are not limited to gossip, resentments, hatred, self pity, bitterness, self righteousness, pride, broken hearts, and one of the biggest is fear. I just keep thinking that fear is one of the biggest issues humanity deals with. That being said, if one is claiming to live for Christ and in the Word, how can they blast through life leaving a path of destruction being led by fear? Living with a heart full of love and compassion, being in the Word daily and living a prayerful life, one would assume that fear would be abated. Yet, fear is offering gratification of self preservation for one’s own prideful nature. Oh Lord help us….

Many years ago I mentioned to a family member that with humility I feared God most of all. I was taken aback when their response was that I should never fear God, that God is love. I remember quieting myself and praying for them at that moment asking the Lord to open their heart to His truth and to know Him completely. Our society, through a great deal of media interference I may add, has taken God out of the picture and created an environment where many no longer fear God, they fear man and humanity. They fear for themselves that their own identity or their own personal desires will not be met. They take on the fear they feel others should have in life, they fear that salvation will not be theirs or that of other loved ones. Fear mongering as we would call it is running rampant in our culture along with self preservation. Goodness gracious I often ponder and ask the Lord if He is weeping over creation and over the evil that has begotten so many. Non believers and believers alike share in fear. Our churches are falling apart at the seems in this generation of self seeking prideful dispositions that believe authority is old fashioned and part of a tradition they do want to take part in. Little do they realize, authority came from their creator and from their beloved Lord who gave them the breath of life. I hope you caught that, self seeking prideful dispositions. After all, isn’t that what pride is? Self seeking feeling as though one is better than another, that one has more wisdom than another? Trust me, out of want to clear the air and make things (which I truly have no control over) right for peace, I myself feel the taste of a prideful heart that is self seeking. I am also reminded that it is out of fear of the Lord that squashes that taste and the sweetness of the Lords words overtake the bitter taste of a self serving moral high ground.

So how does one overcome the fear in life? How do good stewards of the Lord feed the masses with God’s manna for their own survival? Honestly, after a great deal of pondering, praying, seeking wisdom through God’s Word, I have come to the conclusion that through stillness and quietness in one’s own mind is best. Remembering that fear is of Satan, not of God. That alone should be key, yet sometimes humility is so far under the radar that one cannot see that a humble spirit is Godly. Humility and being meek and quiet in spirit often concludes with recognition of God’s blessings for salvation of a soul and also of God’s retribution toward the wicked. God does not allow anything to go wasted, not a prayer, not a thought, not a conviction of heart. Seeing a blessing through the thicket of the brush is something that does not come easy when there is pride, closed mindedness, selfishness, bitterness, anger, blindness, lack of faith, loss of hope …. The list goes on…..

What is my surety that fear is NOT of the Lord? Here are just a few of my reminders, hope they will also be yours:

The Lord is my shield (Genesis 15:1b) The Lord hears my voice where I am at in my journey of life (Genesis 21:17b) The Lord is with me at all times (Genesis 26:24) The Lord blesses those who have faith without fear (Deut. 1:21). The Lord fights for believers in Him (Deut. 3:22). Keeping Gods commandments brings blessings (Deut. 6:2). God makes it clear that It is the Lord God that should be feared (Deut. 8:6) Being courageous and valiant without fear is of the Lord (2 Samuel 9:7). Prosperity in life comes with the fear of the Lord acknowledged and pursued (2 Chronicles 26:5). The knowledge of God comes through fearing the Lord (Proverbs 2:5). Fear of the Lord is hatred of evil, pride and arrogance. (Proverbs 8:13). The fear of the Lord is wisdom and insight. (Proverbs 9:10). The fear of the Lord prolongs life. (Proverbs 10:27). Fearing the Lord allows for uprightness and strong confidence. (Proverbs 14) The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27). Instruction in wisdom and humility rather than honor (Proverbs 15:33).

There are so many more; 365 fear not statements in scripture, one for each day. Necessary for encouragement to the heart and mind of a Christian. A believer that has humility and fears the Lord will be blessed with safety, life and wisdom in truth.

Friend, where are you in this mire of a life? Are you stirred by self righteousness which you use as a religious crutch to build yourself up? Are you caught up in bitterness and anger that swells the hatred against others? Are you seeking the truth through humility and fear of the Lord so that you are given wisdom to know better? We are all sinners and we all have wrinkles that we need to seek ironing out. I encourage you as well as myself in great humility to stay focused on the Word, glorify the most holy of holiness, study and remind yourself that fear is not of God and that being alive means having no fear. Trust in Him, in His will for your life, in His leading and guiding without fear. Pray when that beast of pride begins to knock on the door of your consciousness and remind yourself that you are no better than anyone else on this earth, you are a sinner, you are not more important than the Lord our God, and that every time you allow yourself judgement on others you unsurp the glory of God off his throne. There is one judge and jury and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. So fear the Lord, know who He is wholly and completely, and live having no fear other than that of the Lord!

God bless you.

brown sand — Photo by Miriam Fischer on Pexels.com

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since my last post. I also cannot believe that I had the incredible blessing last year of sharing with others endurance through suffering. That my last post would be so important to me in my own life at this time. God’s merciful grace, through preparing His beloved, is so awe-inspiring that no words can describe. Only tears of joy can show how truly grateful I am for that study last year.

As I work through loss in my life, I find myself clinging to the Lord Jesus and His Word ever so much more. I am reminded that suffering is expected, suffering will come, and suffering can be overcome if we remember the only one we can count on for clarity, comfort, peace, wisdom and resolution is the Lord God Almighty. If we are faithful to taking all of our concerns to Him, we will not be disappointed.

All of us live in a fallen world of brokenness, of which we are not immune from. We wrestle with the loneliness that comes from relationship loss, abandonment, and physical bodily death. We wrestle with the wrongs that come against us in times when we think we are doing good, we wrestle with accusations made against us that are unwarranted and we wrestle with crushing name calling by others. We do not have to wrestle with however, the knowledge that we are loved unconditionally by a creator who has chosen us out of this broken world to do good works in serving Him to the best of our ability. Born into sin and saved by grace to a life filled with hope. Sharing that hope in all that we do with joy, kindness, love, patience and prayer. So that others will see in us the light of majesty in our Lord.

Satan is working overtime right now against God’s beloved and we have to pray for our brothers and sisters asking for God’s providential care to prepare the way for sight in seeing truth, to heal broken hearts, to sweeten taste of bitterness and to protect those who are yet to be called to Him. We need to be praying for the sins of those who know better, pray for those that hold judgmental thoughts against others, and for all of those who cannot control the temptation to demean others for their own self preservation.

There are so many things we fear in this broken world, and yet we do not need to fear if we have the Lord Jesus as our savior. Our sacrifices in this life are nothing compared to the sacrifices He has made for us. No matter what we do on this earth for the good of others is not even close to what He has done for others. We need to uphold the standards that He set with humility, love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. Doing what is right in the sight of God for those who need to be encouraged. That includes ourselves. If we take on the burdens that others try to heap upon our feeble bodies, we are not serving God. We serve ourselves. God is the only one who can change hearts. God is the only one who can lighten the load of heavy burdens. God is the only one who can move mountains that stubbornly hold their ground. God is the only one who can transform evil into good. God is the only one who can save out of death and can give life. God is the only one who can remind us that we are starving for spiritual truth more than we are starving for food. We need to have the humility to admit that we are not strong enough to do it ourselves. We need to call upon the Holy Spirit to give us clarity and wisdom to know best how to serve in humility in all that comes before us. That we would not stand proud over our accomplishments, yet that we would give Him glory for the blessings He has provided. Oh how this broken world tries to control that which is not controllable.

We have to rely on a Holy God who can take away the pain for us, who can give us strength in the most impossible situations and who can comfort us in our mourning. God be with you friends as you endure another hour, day, month and year. Till I write again….. goodnight.