Devotionals for the Heart: Humility

The Road to Humility
A devotional by Cherie Mendez

“Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than to pretend to be somebody and have no food.”—Proverbs 12:9 (NIV)

I love how King Solomon glorified the virtue of humility as stated in the verse above. His contrast here is both humorous and profound. He is saying it’s better to be humble if your humility is part of your success as opposed to trying to “appear successful.”

Every week I sit down to create content for Instagram. However, when life gets tough I want to hide. If I have nothing “impressive” to post then I’d rather not post at all. In today’s image-obsessed society, cultivating a humble heart can be very challenging. The world puts great emphasis on “the pride of life” which is thinking you are special because of what you have, what you know, and what you look like. It glorifies the rich and famous while the poor are often forgotten.

The pride of life also tempts us to focus on ourselves as opposed to focusing on God and serving others. It can create stress and anxiety because when we seek to be the best and don’t succeed, our desire to excel can turn against us. If we fail, it is very normal to become disappointed. But the pride of life can turn our disappointment into a sense of hopeless depression.

The road to humility doesn’t have to be a hard one. If we humble ourselves before God and admit that we need His guidance, He is faithful. Psalm 25:9 (RSV), says “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”

When we stand before God, we will not be judged by our worldly accomplishments. All that will matter is what we did with the gifts and talents He gave us. It’s great to be successful, but if our success becomes our identity, then it’s an idol.

The temptation to be proud is very subtle. We see it in the Garden of Eden. Eve’s mistake was to setting her sights on what God had commanded not to do rather than on what God had blessed her with such as all the other trees filled with life-giving fruit that He had allowed her to eat.

Here are three questions we can ask ourselves to help keep our hearts in check:

Question #1: Am I truly thankful for all God has given me?

Question #2: Have I acknowledged Him as the Source of all the blessings in my life?

Question #3: Am I careful to seek God daily on how to live a life that is pleasing to Him?

It’s amazing how being humble frees you from the need to impress people. There’s no need to be perfect or compare yourself to anyone. This brings me back to my constant challenge with Instagram. With every post I’m learning to ask myself, “What can I share today that will minister to someone?”

Most of the time it’s the trials and the things I don’t like to talk about that resonate most with people. It’s about taking my captions from a “me” post to a “we” post, showing gratitude to the Lord and the people in my life. It’s about my choosing to encourage others when it’s tempting to brag.

I believe that Micah 6:8 (RSV) says it best: “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” 

What will you choose today?

Song of Reflection: “King of Humility” by Justin Tweito. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Cherie Mendez is a New York-based actress and model. Network appearances include Blue Bloods and Bull (CBS), Power (STARZ), and Hunters (Amazon). 

She got her start in modeling at the age of 18 when she was offered a contract to work with an agency in Paris. Over time, she worked for clients such as Mary Kay Cosmetics, Clarins Skincare, Garnier, Lancôme, and Wella.

In recent years, Cherie has been sharing about her faith in God on Instagram where she has an audience of over 30k followers. She is compelled by love to encourage women to understand their identity in Jesus Christ.

It is her goal to bring to light what God’s Word says about our self-worth. She does this by sharing encouraging stories on how she overcame the many struggles that models and actresses typically face.

Some of the topics Cherie loves to write about are:

· Coping with rejection

· Finding your purpose and using your talent for God’s glory

· How God always looks at the heart and the meaning of inner beauty

· Understanding that we are all a work in progress and God is not done with us yet

Cherie and her husband Jimmy live in Upstate New York. They are thankful to have been married for 30 years.

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Connect with Cherie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheriemendez/

Devotionals for the Heart: Humility

Humble Yourself
A devotional by Monique M. Anderson

“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.”—1 Kings 3:7 (NLT)

If you are a Christian who goes to church and reads the Bible, then you probably have heard the story of Solomon. He was the king of Israel who asked God for wisdom to rule the nation. God not only blessed him with wisdom but also gave him riches and long life. We all learned the lesson from this story that when you ask God for what you truly need, He will bless you beyond measure giving you more than you even asked for.

However, while reading 1 Kings recently something different stood out to me. It was Solomon’s humble and vulnerable spirit in 1 Kings 3:7 that really pricked my heart. Solomon was just anointed as king of an entire nation. Imagine yourself in Solomon’s shoes. You’ve just been placed in a highly appointed position as king over an entire nation after the reign of your father (King David). God makes you ruler over His people and gives you power to govern. A position of this magnitude could have anyone’s ego running wild. When people are given positions of power, it often goes to their head. However, Solomon’s approach to this role was very modest.

God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wants. Let’s pause there for a second and appreciate the blessing in that. Oftentimes we go to God asking for what we want. Can you imagine God coming to you asking for what you want? What a blessing.

The Bible often references how much God loves a humble heart.

“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

—Proverbs 29:23 (NKJV)

Solomon’s response to God’s question is very humbling. First, Solomon acknowledges what God has already done for him (1 Kings 3:7). Recognizing what God has already done for you shows reverence to God. Next, King Solomon admits his inadequacy for the role, referring to himself as a “little child”. He acknowledges the fact that he has no leadership experience and was undeserving of the position. He realized to do this job well, he needs God.

Solomon understood he needed something more than just the riches and lavish appearance of being a king. He needed an “understanding heart” to govern the people well. Solomon wanted to please God, and not just look the part. In 1 Kings 3:9 (NLT), he admits, “For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

In other words, he was admitting to God that he had no idea what he’s doing. Solomon was asking God for the help that only He could give. There was no ego, there were no erratic emotions, just his bare vulnerability. Solomon was aware of the great responsibility placed in his hands. He recognized that there was no way he could do this alone or in his own strength. This humility led Solomon to not only being the wisest king of Israel, but also the richest.

When we ask God for what we need, and we recognize that we are not worthy of being used for such a great task, He will not only give us the ability to complete the task, but He will give us provision along the way.

Whatever role God gives you, more than likely it will be something much bigger than you. It will be a position of influence and great responsibility. You will have no idea what you’re doing. Humble yourself before the Lord and ask for His wisdom and understanding for the assignment. Don’t allow the title to run you, but instead run to God and He will be sure to give you more than you can ask think or imagine.

Let’s Pray: Father God, I thank you for wanting to use me. Thank you for seeing value in me for what you need me to do in this world. Humble my heart and give me the strength to be vulnerable enough to seek your guidance, wisdom, and help. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Monique is a writer, wife, and bonus mom to a 14 year old. She just recently unleashed her always present yet hidden talent of writing to the masses. She was born and raised in Mount Vernon, NY where she still resides, and serves on the prayer team of her church The Gathering Harlem.

Monique always felt like God was chasing after her, but never felt the need to surrender. Until that is when life started veering left, and she no longer wanted to steer so she finally gave Jesus the wheel. After forming her relationship with God she always felt compelled to share the revelation’s that the word gave to her. She always felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to write, but was afraid of what people might think. So her writing started in her journal. The journal turned into a book, and the book into a blog.

Slowly but surely God’s love started to cast out all fear. She started to consistently update her bi- weekly blog yourstrulymoe.com. Her obedience led to further revelation. God revealed to her that he would use her to help others along their walk the same way God helped her along hers. Since Monique did not grow up in church she always felt intimidated by the Christian life. She thought that she would be losing so much of herself, not realizing that she would actually find her TRUE self.

Since God has shown her who he really created her to be, she now feels it is her life’s work to help those that are taking their first baby steps in this walk with Christ. She is doing so through her blog, and soon to be published book. She is excited to extend her reach to podcasts and speaking engagements in the near future.

Her blog is the stepping stone to fulfilling the vision God gave to her – “Sharing God’s revelations so we can all reflect his image and fulfill his purpose.”

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Connect with Monique:
Website: www.yourstrulymoe.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourstruly__moe/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yours-Truly-Moe-140255684101423