Monday, July 28, 2014

Kingdom math: The way down is the way up

And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under His mighty hand. — 1 Pet. 5:6

by C.H. Spurgeon

This is tantamount to a promise: if we will bow down, the Lord will lift us up. Humility leads to honor; submission is the way to exaltation. That same hand of God which presses us down is waiting to raise us up when we are prepared to bear the blessing. We stoop to conquer. Many cringe before men and yet miss the patronage they crave; but he that humbles himself under the hand of God shall not fail to be enriched, uplifted, sustained, and comforted by the ever-gracious One. It is a habit of Jehovah to cast down the proud and lift up the lowly.

Yet there is a time for the Lord’s working. We ought now to humble ourselves, even at this present moment; and we are bound to keep on doing so whether the Lord lays His afflicting hand upon us or not. When the Lord smites, it is our special duty to accept the chastisement with profound submission. But as for the Lord’s exaltation of us, that can only come “in due time,” and God is the best judge of that day and hour. Do we cry out impatiently for the blessing? Would we wish for untimely honor? What are we at? Surely we are not truly humbled, or we should wait with quiet submission. So let us do.

Selah.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are missed- Maybe you are working on a book?

Loy said...

Thank you, friend! Yes, I'm doing key work on more than one front -- but still should be able to update here more often. God willing. Many blessings to you, in holy grace!