Humility - IT’s JOY

Part 3

“Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the strength of Christ may rest on me. Wherefore, I take pleasure in weaknesses; for when I am weak, then am I strong!”

2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

Lest Paul should exalt himself, because of the exceeding greatness of the revelations and visions he received, a “thorn in the flesh” was sent to keep him humble. Paul’s first desire was to have it removed, and he asked the Lord three times that it might depart. The answer came that this trial was to yield a blessing; that, in his weakness and the humiliation it brought, the grace and strength of the Lord could be the better manifested. Paul at once entered upon a new stage in his relation to the trial; instead of simply enduring it, he most gladly gloried in it; instead of asking for deliverance, he took pleasure in it. He learned that the place of humiliation is the place of blessing, power and joy.

Virtually every Christian passes through these two stages in his pursuit of humility. In the first stage he fears, flees, and seeks deliverance from all that would humble him. He has not yet learned to seek humility at any cost. He has accepted the command to be humble, and seeks to obey it, only to find how utterly he fails. He prays for humility, at times very earnestly; but in his secret heart, he prays more, if not in word, then in desire, to be kept from the very things that will make him humble. He is not yet so in love with humility as with the beauty of the Lamb of God, and the joy of heaven, that he would sell all to procure it. In his pursuit of it, and his prayer for it, there is still somewhat of a sense of burden and of bondage; to humble himself has not yet become the spontaneous expression of a life and nature that is essentially humble. It has not yet become his joy and pleasure. He cannot yet say, “Most gladly do I glory in weakness and take pleasure in my infirmities!”

But can we hope to reach the stage in which this will be the case? Undoubtedly. What will it be that brings us there? That which brought Paul there - a new revelation of the Lord Jesus. Nothing but the presence of the Lord can reveal and expel self, and the first step toward this expulsion is the Spirit’s revelation of this pride. A clearer insight was to be given Paul into the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish every desire to seek anything in self and will make us delight in every humiliation that prepares us for the presence and power of Jesus.

We see advanced believers, eminent teachers, who have not yet fully learned the lesson of humility in gladly glorying in weakness. We see this in Paul. The danger of exalting himself was coming near. He knew not yet perfectly what it was to be nothing; to die, that Christ alone might live in him; to take pleasure in all that brought him low. It appears as if this was the highest lesson that he had to learn, i.e., full conformity to his Lord in that self-emptying where he could glory in weakness that God might be All.

The highest lesson a believer has to learn is humility. There may be intense dedication, fervent zeal and heavenly experience and yet, if it is not prevented by very special dealings of the Lord, there may be an unconscious self-exaltation with it all. Let us learn well this lesson - that the highest holiness is in the deepest humility; and let us remember that it does not come of itself, but only as it becomes a matter of special dealing on the part of our faithful Lord and His faithful servant.

JOY ~ Let us look at our lives in the light of Paul’s words in our theme text of 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 and see if we gladly glory in weakness, take pleasure, as did Paul, in injuries, necessities and distresses. Let us ask ourselves if we have learned to regard a reproof, just or unjust, a reproach from friend or enemy, an injury, trouble or difficulty into which others bring us, as above all an opportunity of proving how Jesus is all to us, how our own pleasure or honor are nothing, and how humbling circumstances are in very truth what we take pleasure in. It is truly a blessing, the deep joy of heaven, to be so free from self that whatever is said of us or done to us is lost and swallowed up in the thought that God is All.

Let us trust Him who took charge of Paul to take charge of us as well. The school in which Jesus taught Paul is our school also. He watches over us with a jealous loving care, “lest we exalt ourselves” in order to deliver us from such a condition. In trial, weakness and trouble He seeks to bring us low, until we have so learned that His grace is all, and we have learned to take pleasure in the very thing that brings us and keeps us “lowly and meek” as was our Lord. His strength is perfected in our weakness, His presence fills and satisfies our emptiness, becoming the secret of a humility that need never fail and making us able to be led in true humility, with its wonderful gladness and glorying and pleasure in all circumstances.

The humble child of God has learned the secret of abiding gladness. The weaker he feels, the lower he sinks, the greater his humbling, the more the power and presence of Christ are his portion, until, he can say with Paul, “…I am nothing” and know the joy of trusting that God’s grace is always sufficient.

I feel I must stress again that the danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and especially at the time of our highest experiences. The preacher of spiritual truth with an admiring congregation hanging on his every word; the Christian giving testimony to a blessed experience - no one knows the hidden, unconscious danger to which these are exposed. Paul was in danger without knowing it. What Jesus did for him is also written for our admonition, that we may know our danger and know our only safety. If ever it has been said of us, ‘he is so full of self’ or ‘he does not practice what he preaches’ or ‘his blessing has not made him humbler or gentler,’ let it be said no more. Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us like Himself, “meek and lowly in heart!”

Yes, the grace for humility is greater and nearer than we think. The humility of Jesus is our salvation. Jesus Himself is our humility. It is His care and His work in our lives. His grace is sufficient for us to meet the temptation of pride, too. His strength is perfected in our weakness. Let us choose rather to be weak, to be low, and to be nothing. Let humility be to us joy and gladness. Let us gladly glory and take pleasure in weakness, in all that can humble us and keep us lying low at the foot of the Cross, for then the power of Christ will rest upon us. Christ humbled Himself; therefore, God highly exalted Him! Christ will humble us, and keep us in that state if we allow Him to; let us heartily consent, let us trustfully and joyfully accept all that humbles us; the power of Christ will be our reward. We shall find that the deepest humility is the secret of the truest happiness - a joy that nothing can destroy!

Taken from the book, Humility, by Andrew Murray,

Charles Fox, writes of “God’s five-starred army of decreasing human weakness.” Many of us can qualify if we are:

Foolish enough - to depend on Him for wisdom:

Weak enough - to be empowered with His strength;

Base enough - to have no honor but God’s honor;

Despised enough - to be kept in the dust at His feet;

Nothing enough - for God to be everything.”

Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations