Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6, ESV
It’s hard to be humble. I’m not talking about the false humility often practiced by the religious, like the Pharisees, whom Jesus repeatedly criticized, who would pray loudly and boldly so that everyone could hear just how humble they were. Humility is more like the tax collector beating his breast or the widow with her two cents to throw into the offering. A humility based on the reality that outside of Christ, we are nothing. A humility that puts the brother or sister in the faith before us prays for and invests in them. It’s hard to be humble because, with it, we find suffering. It creates a deep sense of compassion for others and their suffering. It closely aligns us with our suffering Savior as He was mocked and beaten by the Sanhedrin, at the post being whipped with the scourge, in the mockery of the soldiers with the crown of thorns and the rod, and finally, as He was nailed upon the Cross for our sins. In this suffering, we find the heart of our Lord and are lifted into His glory.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.