Daniel’s Lesson – by Paul Gilberston

  Posted on January 24, 2017  by   No comments

This past week God has really laid the topic of humility on my heart.  Being humble was something my parents taught me a long time ago and continued to teach me as I grew up.  I consider myself to be a humble person but I find that it does not always come easy to me.  I may be humble, but I am also strong willed and that is a tricky combination.  Being humble to each other is one thing, but as I was reading through Daniel, there was a passage that brought me to my knees.  Sometimes we can be humble to one another, but we haven’t truly humbled ourselves to God.  

The verses that struck a blow to my humility was Daniel 10:11-12 11And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.”  And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.  12Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”  

What really caught my attention was this quote, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”  There are so many things God could and probably should demand of us but what he request is that we should humble ourselves to him.  We do this to each other (or we should), but do we humble ourselves to the one who made us?  The angel came to Daniel once he humbled himself to God and not before.  If that does not cause us to pause, let us look at what Philippians 2 says to us.

Philippians 2: 1-11 1So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What a great example for all of us to follow.  Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.  What more can we ask for?  It is a lesson that I have to remind myself daily because it is not a natural thing to do.  My prayer is that we would humble ourselves before God and always remember to give him the glory.

God’s Blessings,
Paul