2 KINGS 5:1-15 Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm so humble and I'm proud of it!" :) Cute joke but what is humility? How do we get it?
In this passage, we see that Naaman, the commander of the king's army, had a major problem in his life and it wasn't going away. Leprosy! No known cure for it on the planet! He heard from his wife's maid that a prophet in Samaria could cure him and so off he went.......lickety split! Wouldn't you? But what happened upon his arrival was not to his liking at all! In fact, he became angry and suggested there must be another way to get cured besides dunking up and down in a dirty river.
Recovery from those things that I still struggle with, my behavioural 'leprosys' shall we call them, has come with a similar price tag............a very humbling and distasteful price tag. Over the years, as I walked with the Lord, 'I' had overcome many of my hurts, habits and hang-ups without a lot of outside help. But slowly I began to realize that there were a couple of areas that I struggled in and they weren't under my control AT ALL. Thankfully, like Naaman, I was directed to where I could get help but also like Naaman, I had to realize that the cure came with a price tag. Yes......humility! In order to be cured, I had to realize that I'm not God and am not able to control my own life and I had to join the human race...........just be one of the people so to speak........much like Naaman had to. As well, like Naaman, I had to be willing to take direction and follow it, instead of always being the one giving direction and expecting others to follow it.
Yes, my recovery from my struggles depends on doing the same things I would tell others to do. Work the 12 Steps, pray and meditate on God's Word, meet with others with similar struggles for support, plan your work and work your plan, get accountability, get busy and serve others, etc. etc.
Okay, back to our original question. How do we get humility? Well, my answer is not necessarily the only one but I would have to say from the example of Naaman that humility may be seen in a person when they recognize they aren't God and can't control everything in their life and when they are willing to look for outside help and follow direction. Just my observations! Hope it helps!
In this passage, we see that Naaman, the commander of the king's army, had a major problem in his life and it wasn't going away. Leprosy! No known cure for it on the planet! He heard from his wife's maid that a prophet in Samaria could cure him and so off he went.......lickety split! Wouldn't you? But what happened upon his arrival was not to his liking at all! In fact, he became angry and suggested there must be another way to get cured besides dunking up and down in a dirty river.
Recovery from those things that I still struggle with, my behavioural 'leprosys' shall we call them, has come with a similar price tag............a very humbling and distasteful price tag. Over the years, as I walked with the Lord, 'I' had overcome many of my hurts, habits and hang-ups without a lot of outside help. But slowly I began to realize that there were a couple of areas that I struggled in and they weren't under my control AT ALL. Thankfully, like Naaman, I was directed to where I could get help but also like Naaman, I had to realize that the cure came with a price tag. Yes......humility! In order to be cured, I had to realize that I'm not God and am not able to control my own life and I had to join the human race...........just be one of the people so to speak........much like Naaman had to. As well, like Naaman, I had to be willing to take direction and follow it, instead of always being the one giving direction and expecting others to follow it.
Yes, my recovery from my struggles depends on doing the same things I would tell others to do. Work the 12 Steps, pray and meditate on God's Word, meet with others with similar struggles for support, plan your work and work your plan, get accountability, get busy and serve others, etc. etc.
Okay, back to our original question. How do we get humility? Well, my answer is not necessarily the only one but I would have to say from the example of Naaman that humility may be seen in a person when they recognize they aren't God and can't control everything in their life and when they are willing to look for outside help and follow direction. Just my observations! Hope it helps!