Seeking Him: 12 Days to Spiritual RevivalSample

Day 2: Humility

Pride, the opposite of humility, is the most formidable roadblock to revival. Pride blinds us to our true spiritual condition and causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we should. When we are proud, the self becomes more important than anyone else. When we are proud, we are driven to promote ourselves and protect our reputation. Pride keeps us at a distance from God.

Consider these verses:

Psalm 10:4; Psalm 31:23; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 11:2; Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 29:23; Obadiah 3; Matthew 23:12; James 4:6

As strongly as God is repulsed by pride, He is drawn to humility, as this verse shows.

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

God chooses to exalt the humble. He promises to live in intimate fellowship with them. Those with humble hearts are candidates for revival. Humility has never been popular in the eyes of the world. If you want to get ahead, self-confidence and self-promotion are the prescriptions for success. However, humility and brokenness are essential in the kingdom of God, especially in the process of revival.

Humbling ourselves is the first step we take toward God. But how do we do this? Isaiah provides some instruction from his personal experience.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:1–7)

Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple illustrates the process of revival. Like Isaiah, when we are brought to a new awareness of God’s holiness, we recognize the depth of our own sinfulness. With a broken, contrite heart, we confess and forsake our sin. God responds to our humility with forgiveness; He restores us and makes us usable instruments to fulfill His purposes in our world.

Ask God to show you which characteristics of a proud heart are true of you.

Pray for God’s continued grace to seek Him with humility. Ask for His mercy in your lives and in His church. Confess specific evidences of pride that He has revealed to you, and ask God to make you more sensitive to the manifestations of pride in your life. Pray for a “baptism of humility” among God’s people—beginning in your own heart. Ask Him to reveal His awesome greatness in such a way that you will bow before Him.

Consider:

Why do you think humility is vital to revival? How does pride hinder revival?