Humility Is Surrender to God
Humility is not what we usually think. It is the Biblical spirituality which opens us up to the inner peace and strength that comes only from God. It is primarily vertical and it establishes our relationship with God. Humility is not one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; but it gives us access to the fruit of the Spirit, and increases it. We need a humble and contrite heart for this. God says “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).
Humility is best described in 1Peter 5:5-7 when Peter tells us to “be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, Casting all of your care upon him; for he careth for you.” This introduces the added element of casting all of our care on God. When I did this many years ago, it immediately produced the most transforming experience in my life.
I believe that when we are told to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and not lean on our own understanding, it is telling us the same thing (Proverbs 3:5). This also true of when Christ speaks of losing one’s life, or denying or disowning oneself in Matthew 16:24-25.
There is some relaxation that comes from other spiritual practices such as Yoga and breathing exercises; but it is not sustained by God because they do not include Him in the process even when they are Christian coated. They don’t include resting in God. They leave us within the realm of a peace that we can muster only on our own strength, and which is only within our own understanding. It comes and goes. Psalms 55:22 tells us to “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved”. God brings us a peace that He also sustains.
God wants us to be anxious for nothing in order to get His peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). Are we really not supposed to worry about anything at all? The world tells us to worry about the things that we can control, and not worry about the things that we can’t. The Bible tells us that we shouldn’t worry about anything. This sounds extreme to most people, even Christians; but this is what brings us Divine peace and strength because God is the object upon which we release all of our cares. This brings Him into every aspect of our lives. It opens us up to Christ’s rest (Matthew 11:28). God responds to our act of unconditional trust by giving us grace. Pride is presented as the opposite of humility; and God resists the proud.
I got my first primal glimpse of this spirituality was I was about 19 years old. I was going through a period of a scrupulous conscience; always worried about whether I was sinning and displeasing God. During this period I went into the Bible and stumbled upon the account of the lilies of the field in the gospels (Matthew 6:25-34). When I read it, it sounded like it was telling me that I wasn’t supposed to worry about anything at all in order to please God. I had never heard of this before in the Christianity that I grew up with. I had been worried about everything, thinking that I was pleasing God. Because there was no support for this kind of thinking, I didn’t go with it at the time; but I never forgot it because I was very attracted to it. About 10 years later, I realized that I had not misread it.
The Holy Spirit is the vehicle of God’s grace when the Spirit inhabits us. The fruit of the Spirit contains both peace and strength (temperance). Isaiah 26:3-4 says: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever; for in the LORD God is everlasting strength”. Unconditional trust in God is the spirituality of both the Old and the New Testaments.
Peter Aiello wrote Hidden Treasure to present the unique Biblical method for connecting with God. Peter found his relationship with God through His grace and His instruction from scriptures. He wrote Hidden Treasure as an evangelism book for others to use. Contact Peter directly at [email protected]. Visit www.hiddentreasure.website for a FREE book download.
