Abraham had it when he declared he was nothing but dust and ashes. So did Jacob as he stood before Pharaoh and blessed the most powerful king on earth as a greater would bless a lesser. As a matter of fact, every hero of God had it, but it didn’t always look like it.
David had it; Saul did not. Why? Because with Saul, it was always about Saul, but with David, it was always about God. That’s why Saul ultimately failed and why David had the boldness as a young boy to stand and mock Goliath and later on, with two of his comrades to stand and defeat an entire army in a field of barley. (1 Chron. 11:13-14)
Moses was the meekest man on earth, but you never saw him wilt before any of the bullies in the congregation. He was too afraid of God to be worried about some puffed up rebels like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Elijah had it. You could hear it in his voice when he stood before the king of Israel and cried about “the Lord God, before whom I stand.” He feared God, not the king. It gave him the boldness to call down fire from heaven. And nobody got in his way when he started hacking the priests and prophets of Baal into pieces.
Josiah had it when they had found the lost book of the Law, and in fear and repentance, cleansed the Temple and slaughtered all the sodomites and false idol worshippers. But then he lost it later on when he thought he could take on Pharaoh who was trying to pass through Judah on his way to Babylon.
Peter had to learn it the hard way while John seemed to take to it naturally.
Paul learned it on the road to Damascus. It’s what kept him going when he faced the all the beatings and persecution that he went through.
Jesus had it. He was the essence of humility, yet he never backed down from the devil or any of the religious leaders that came against him, even whipping them out of the Temple. His boldness came from his fear of God. Hebrews 5:7 tells us that He “was heard in that he feared”. That gave him, not only his power and authority in God, but also his humility.
Humility is meekness toward God, not toward man. It is not a sense of inferiority where we stand hat-in-hand, staring at our shoes while we mumble out weak apologies for our faith. Humility is the power in God that is gained when we step out of ourselves – our flesh, our intelligence, our pride, our idea of who and what we are – and step into the mantle of the Holy Spirit and into the shoes of Christ.
Yes, they are big shoes! And no, you can’t fill them in your own power! It is only when you yield completely to the lordship of Christ that you are able to walk in them. That requires a broken, crucified walk in God – crucified unto the world and to yourself, broken from your own selfish pride and desires for recognition, and purged from your own ways until you become an empty vessel of transparent glass. Only then can you be filled with God’s power as you become invisible so that He, and He alone, gets the glory.
And with that, you enter into an authority and power in God that is devoid of all flesh so that you may work the works of God in true humility and humbleness of mind.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalms 57:17
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)