good news! humility is God’s work

This is the 10th post in a series on humility.

As I’ve already noted, it’s easy to get caught up in developing humility on my own, out of my strength and determination. And certainly, determination is required–but it’s a determination not to do but to be, to rest, to trust. Andrew Murray makes that clear as he continues his exploration of humility.

In the chapter “Humility and Faith,” he states that pride works against faith and that “faith and humility are at their root one” because both focus on God as all in all. The next step in Murray’s study is to consider humility and death to self. Murray writes, “Humility and death are in their very nature one: humility is the bud; in death the fruit is ripened to perfection.” The obvious question is “how do I let God become all in all? How do I die to self?” I love Murray’s answer, because it takes the pressure off of me:

Death to self is not your work; it is God’s work.… Nature never can overcome nature, not even with the help of grace. Self can never cast out self, even in the regenerate man. Praise God! The work has been done, finished, and perfected forever. The death of Jesus, once and for all, is our death to self.

Death to self–true humility that makes God all in all and allows faith to work–is achieved only in resting in the Father and receiving the power of the Spirit. This is the lesson Paul learned; as he explained to the Corinthians, “But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.‘” We know that pride and temptation are always near; Murray tells us that “the grace for humility is also greater and nearer than we think.” Later, he writes,

He who works both to will and to do in us comes with His mighty power and Spirit; and the humbling of the proud heart with which the penitent saint so often casts himself before God is rewarded with “more grace” of the humble heart.

This is good news indeed! And isn’t that the message of the Gospel, that God has taken care of our deepest needs? And God’s care extends beyond salvation to encompass our very lives. Growing up, I had this idea that once I walked the aisle and got baptized, I was on my own; I just had to grit my teeth and make it through. I’m not sure where I got that notion; certainly I don’t recall anyone saying that. But I know I’m not alone in having to shift my thinking from a self-centered, “I’m going to please God even if it kills me” perspective to a God-centered “His grace is sufficient” perspective.

It’s good news to be told that the thing I desire, a humble heart, is what God desires to work in me. It’s good news to know that what I can’t achieve, death to self, has already been accomplished by Christ on the cross. It’s good news to know that the Holy Spirit longs to work in me, to bring grace and power–if I’ll just let Him.

Tagged as: Andrew Murray, good news, grace, Holy Spirit, humility, Jesus, self-denial