Humbling Times

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

Any one who truly claims Christianity, who truly seeks the Lord with their hearts, not just lip-service, will attest to the roller-coaster ride of God’s will in their lives. Highs of life, are followed by lows of life. Seemingly endless valleys are replaced by mountaintop experiences. When our faith seems weak, there are life experiences that we question God, and Satan loves the doubts he is allowed to place there during those times. The prideful Christians, have great falls. The facade Christians, are exposed. The seemingly endless blessed Christians, are many times not Christians at all. There is no biblical evidence in the Bible of the removal of suffering from anyone who is truly seeking God with all their hearts; all of them experienced the highs and lows of life as God humbled them throughout life.

Much of Deuteronomy is Moses speaking of the evidences of, and the promises of God, to his chosen people of Israel. They have been rescued by God, humbled by God, and are about to be blessed by God as they enter into the promised land of milk and honey that he told them about. Can you imagine at any age, spending your life as that generation of Israel did? Slavery in Egypt, wandering in the desert with God for forty years, and now Moses is telling them of how they will conquer nations much greater than them, completely wiping them off the map, and take all their land? All throughout his speech his reminds them of God’s promises to them. Deuteronomy 7:9 Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. You must see the promise of God to those who love him, but you must also see the warning of living by biblical principles also; “and who keep his commandments.” If you are living in sin, going through the motions on Sunday, and returning to sin, are you obeying the commandments, or is God going to repay you to your face when you bow before Jesus one day? We must look at ourselves, we must ask God to reveal our hearts to us and look to draw closer to him when he does.

God is going to humble you, likely all through your life as you begin to peak in many ways. God will remind you of his control, point out sins, and bring about pain to remind you of your need for him. As one who’s testimony is rooted in pride, and God is still daily humbling me, I can attest he will use it to draw you closer to him. God wants you to be weak in yourself, but heavenly strong in him. 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. If you are in a season of God’s humbling, quit trying to fight it your way, and prayerfully seek him his way. With a heart that seeks him and prayer and his word, comes the blessings of the security of a glimpse of the understanding of the sovereignty of God.