God's Quickening Spirit

The previous blog ended with the conclusion that humility overcomes the pride of a too high regard for one's self.

But from where does humility come?

I’ve found that humility, if it is something I attempt to instill in myself, is not really humility. The reason being because I will want it to be noticed. I will want it to be affirmed. At minimum, I will give myself credit for being humble and in that, I will have a very high regard for myself, which is pride. I will be exhibiting what 2 Timothy 3:5 describes as a form of godliness that denies God’s power.

Which brings us back to where we started: having a very high regard for ourselves because we’re so humble—more humble, even, than anyone else!

“Thus says the LORD,

‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the LORD.’” Jeremiah 17:5

Very rarely is anything gained by self-implementation. And, I would argue, anything self-imposed cannot be consistently maintained over time.

That's because, when the going gets tough, or doesn’t meet our expectations, or becomes boring or tedious, or we realize how many hours we must dedicate to actually honing a talent or vocation, we fade in our pursuit. And should we somehow manage to succeed on sheer willpower or competitiveness, we are often never satisfied.

So how then do we obtain humility?

 It is the work of the Spirit of God.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD

And whose trust is the LORD.

‘For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

God works through His process of quickening:

Dictionary.com defines quickening as

“to begin to manifest signs of life”

to “stir up, rouse, stimulate”

“to revive, restore life to”

“to become alive; receive life”

“to become more active; sensitive”

Scripture explains it this way:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” John 6:63

“...even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.” Romans 4:17b

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

God can make us alive to humility: to desire it and, over time, not even be conscious of it in ourselves.

The benefit of His humility, His way, is that we don’t become prideful in it. We are obeying a command of His to be humble: it is not something we would have willingly opted for on our own. The self fights it:

“For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit...” Galatians 5:17a

For those who have heeded His quickening unto salvation in Christ, it often can take years to even begin to understand God’s humility.

But when God is the purveyor and curator of humility through His Spirit in us, and we walk by that Spirit, then we will "not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

But we must respond to God’s quickening when it happens. 

This is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to taking any new direction. God’s quickening comes to us all. But what do we do with His quickening? Perhaps His quickening in us would benefit from the same principles laid out in the February 17 post: Listen, hear, respond. Do not let ego harden us against God’s call to us.

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”  Hebrews 3:12

But when we cross Christ's threshold into His light, we are, finally, able to leave the darkness of pride behind.

 “‘THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT,

AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,

UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.’

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:16-17

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humbe in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

People are weary, heavy-laden and burdened, often because of their pride which demands things the world, and even their own egos, cannot give them: affirmation, a sense of importance, identity, contentment, joy and peace.

Jesus says He can take our yoke and burden in exchange for His.

I mean, listen, if we are going to go around tired and burdened in life, doesn’t it seem better to go with the lighter version?

The way of Jesus is indeed lighter because “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

God’s unequivocal, non-negotiable call is to humility in the equipping and empowering of Christ. It is the humility that first broke us when we allowed Christ’s salvation to walk us through the door to new life in Him. It is the humility He desires to grow in us through prayer and the reading and applying of His Word.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

With all of this going for us, why would we continue to lust after our own high regard, which does nothing for us and even sets us back?

Instead,

“And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—for he says, 

‘AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,

AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.’

Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION’—giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,” 2 Corinthians 6:1-3

copyright Barb Harwood