A Humbling Hand

If there's one thing I wish would be easier done than said in my life, it would be fixing my pride. It's something that I personally, like many other people, struggle with more than usual. Pride can be so deceitful, often coming in abstract forms that are hard to see when not paying close attention. Of course when we hear the word pride, the first thing that pops into our heads is a pompous, overconceited spirit that thinks he/she is better than anyone else. Or perhaps we might imagine someone being stubborn and unwilling to let down their guard when it comes to fragile situations. Pride can be a lot of things, but I keep realizing how poisonous and prominent pride can really be in life. For example, pride can be something as subtle as refusing to ask for help or speak up because of what someone might think of you. Pride can come in the form of being worried about if people will judge your appearence when walking into a crowded room or looking at a photograph...it can be SO many things. Pride is the most active catalyst in callousing our very hearts.

This morning, I was directed to a verse that is pretty common:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

-1 Peter 5:6

You see this one all the time on the back of letterman jackets, forwarded emails, and articles that are supposed to help you through difficult times. But what does this verse really mean? What does it really mean to humble ourselves "under God's mighty hand?" I realized it goes like this. I, who can not even be measured next to a mere speck of dust on a universal spectrum, think at times that I deserve something for all the things I've helped contribute to in life, as sinful as that seems. Just when I begin to think, "Good job Taylor, you deserve something for that" or something along those lines, there's a gentle ping that hits me and tells me to get over myself, leaving me feeling guilty for lifting myself up in the first place. After pondering this verse for a long time, this is how He revealed himself to me. God is above and over me in every way possible, so just when I'm about to think of giving any sort of undeserved credit to myself, I pray that "God's mighty hand" would be there, hovering right over me, ready to break me with a reminder that He is THE ONLY ONE WORTHY. After all, it's the very hand that:

1. Has the power to"split the earth with rivers"(Habakkuk 3:9) and to engulf the earth with flames with the blink of an eye

2."Holds all things together" (Col. 2:17), including, yes, the universe.

3.Carries me through my trials and doesn't let me fall, but at the same time gives me those extras nudges to endure and perservere in my sufferings

4.Tends to more than 6 billion people's lives all at the same time, day and night

5.Gave me Jesus Christ, who died the hardest death, yet humbled himself as he did so

Who am I to even consider increasing myself for the sake of my own being and image? God is continuing to teach me just how significant life can be when we completely live for Him, but it takes a great deal of comprehending his enormity first. I must remember that my life is only a "hand breadth" in time and space, where He is infinite. The process of allowing God to humble me does not come over night; instead, it is a slow but sure process that graciously shaves off the calloused parts of my heart that have been destroyed by self-pride. He was, is, and is to come, infinitely existing in the past, present and future, and desires us to glorify Him with all of our lives. I am so thankful when I get even a tiny glimpse of His greatness, because I am gently reminded that I am never alone, that He is all that's worth living for, and therefore my life should be that as of an arrow that consistently is pointing toward Him with everything that I do. I desire to be under the hand of God all the days of my life...