Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3, NIV)
When I was 13 years old I shot a 73, but it wasn’t until I was 20 that I broke par for the first time. I guess you could say that I was afraid to go low!
When I was six years old I invited Jesus into my heart and accepted him as my Savior, but it wasn’t until I was 34 that I felt humbled and the need to be broken to be used fully by my Creator. I guess you could say I was really afraid to go low!
Many of you are probably connecting quickly with our golf illustration. You identify with the nervousness that comes when you are on the verge of breaking a personal record or recording a milestone on the golf course. However, you may be a little confused as to where I’m headed with the “go low” connection to your faith and relationship to God.
I still feel the impression that today’s verse made on me almost a year ago when I read it; it jumped off the page and slapped me across the face. I think the handprint of God is still on my cheek! As I was reading this story in Numbers 12 about a confrontation that Aaron and his wife Miriam had with Moses, I had a great aha! moment about God’s desire for our humility. I have heard and read many times the passages that note, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble,” but I really didn’t connect with this idea until reading the description in Numbers 12 that credited Moses with being the most humble man on earth.
You mean Moses wasn’t a superhero or Mr. Charisma? No, he was Mr. Humble. What made Moses capable for God’s work was that he got completely out of the way. He removed his pride, subdued his fleeting desires, focused on the eternal, and ultimately had no personal agenda. He was here for one reason, to serve God. The author of Hebrews wrote in verses 11:24-27, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
God used Moses as instrumentally as any other fallible man who has walked the earth. Yet the Bible tells us that he was the most humble man, not the most capable. So, if you want to experience fully what God created you to do and be and hear him clearly, allow him to humble you to a place where you are willing to deny your own recognition and pleasure for his glory and will.
It is obvious that God greatly uses the humble, but it may be a painful process. Are you willing to “go low” to get there?
—
Josh Nelson
October 29, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.