“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT)
I am sure you have heard by now that golf is a very humbling game. More than that, I know you’ve experienced it.
Usually it happens to me like this: I play a trouble-free first nine holes. I have the feeling that the game is under my control. I’ve got this!
Then comes the back nine…
I’ve probably said enough, but just to be sure we fully understand each other, what has happened is the proverbial recipe for disaster. For every part bad mechanics, there is another part superstition and doubt and negative self-talk and poor judgment and maybe even a bit of indigestion from that hot dog at the turn. Murphy would be proud. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.
Life is like this sometimes, too, though we aren’t very quick to admit it. We’re proud people. No matter how bad it gets, we can overcome this. God is in heaven, and he wants to see us wiggle our way out of this one. Right? Wrong! God is definitely in heaven, but what he wants is for us to humble our way out of this trouble and every other.
Today’s scripture passage comes from God’s own lips. At a time when his people had every reason to be proud—they were dedicating the temple that Solomon had built—God told them to pipe down. This was not about their accomplishments or strength. In fact, the passage begins this way:
At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. (2 Chronicles 7:13)
God was sending the message that he is always in control and will do as he wills. He may even bring difficulty for his people. What may be most surprising is that he did not next say, “It’s then that I want you to show me your best stuff, to show me how committed and tough you are.” No, he said pretty much the opposite: “It’s then that I want you to humble yourself before me.”
Humility is our way of expressing to God that he is above all. Especially, he is above us. And the wonder of all this is that he wants to prove it! He wants us to humble ourselves and pray and seek his forgiveness and repent so that he can show his grace and mercy and glory. He wants to give us all he has to give us. Our humility shows him that we want it.
Can I just say before I finish that humility is hard? We want to demonstrate that we can handle this—even if this only means we’re going to stop what we’re doing and do what God wants. As the warnings so often say, “Don’t try this at home!” What you need is the supernatural work of God in you, “giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Humble yourself enough to pray that first prayer and God will rush in to complete his good work in you.
—
Dereck Wong
May 9, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.