Joni And Friends 10 January 2024 Devotional Message
Joni and Friends 10 January 2024 Devotional Wednesday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Humble Yourself…How?
“In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.” – 2 Chronicles 33:12
Manasseh was one evil dude. Although he was a leader in Israel, he threw infants on the sacrificial fire to appease pagan gods. After he was captured by the Assyrians, bound in shackles, and led away to Babylon by a hook in his nose, he “humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.”
We wouldn’t want Manasseh’s experience, but we do want to be humble. So we uproot all the “pagan gods” in our life, such as petty resentments and an overstuffed ego. Yet when we drive ourselves to our knees for sin’s sake or our sake or the sake of our marriages or churches, friendships or family, we fail. If we’re looking for humility, we don’t look at ourselves or how greatly we miss the mark; we gaze at God. We seek his favor. We humble ourselves before the Lord.
To humble yourself before the Lord is to meditate on, brood over, muse upon, and consider the Lord and his greatness. An old Puritan, in The Valley of Vision, wrote, “Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the person sinned against.”
By the way, Manasseh was not only forgiven but reinstated as king of Israel. What an incredible example of the enormous extent to which God will go to forgive. But remember that Manasseh humbled himself greatly.
Ponder the greatness of God today. You’ll find yourself becoming slow to speak and quick to listen, thanking busboys at restaurants, praying more fervently, pinch-hitting for the Toddler Praise lady who usually does diaper duty, and sacrificing an extra hour of sleep in the morning for a more earnest quiet time.
Keep me from growing self-sufficient today, Lord. Help me to focus not on my pride but on you, not so much on my sin as on the greatness of you whom I have sinned against. Please give me the spirit of humility.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY