Day 232, Year 1

The Humble Receive More Grace from God

“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34 NKJV)

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.'” (James 4:6 NASB)

The word “humble” in the first verse of today is ‘anav in Hebrew, which means “afflicted, meek, poor, needy, weak, or lowly.” The word “humble” in the second verse, tapeinos in Greek, means “not rising far from the ground,” and metaphorically refers to being “lowly, of low degree, brought low with grief or depressed, or lowly in spirit.” There is a similarity between these two words.

God “scorns the scornful” in Proverbs, has become “God is opposed to the proud” in the book of James. “God scorns at those who are scornful” seems weird, but “He is opposed to the proud” is easy to understand. The point is: God prevents the proud from receiving His salvation, and thus it is difficult for the proud to enter His kingdom. Jesus mentioned that anyone who wants to enter into His kingdom must become like a humble child. By scorning the proud, God is preventing them from receiving His saving grace. So, we must become humble in order to be saved.

Here are two ways to humble ourselves. First, people often have both happy and unhappy memories of the past. Proud people tend to value the happy parts more than the unhappy parts, but humble people place more regard on the unhappy parts. To become humble, we can start by understanding our hardships and lowliness, including our failures and wounds. As you face your failures, cry out to God for His grace in those areas, so that you can change according to His will and head toward greater success from now on. Meanwhile, you should ask Jesus to heal your wounds. Contrarily, proud people tend to view their failures as normal, while magnifying their achievements or successes and taking pleasure in them.

Second, when people rely on their own possessions or talents, they become proud. While people use their wealth and talents to gain satisfaction, we believers are able to please the Lord by letting Him use what we have. When we offer our possessions, talents, and gifts to God for His use, we can be humbled as we seek, focus on, and participate in His greater plan and work. Pride and humility are actually different paths to hell and heaven, respectively.

Reflection questions:

1) How do you perceive your happiness and unhappiness in the past memories? Could you be humbled by seeking God’s help and healing of the unhappy parts?

2) Are you willing to let the Lord use your wealth, talents, and gifts, and pay attention to and participate in His work? Why?