Humbled or Humbling?

Shortly after starting seminary, I approached the Senior Pastor of the church I was attending and alerted him to the fact that I would be willing to preach for him whenever he needed me. Now, this was a fellowship filled to overflowing with seminary students and aspiring mouthpieces for God. However, knowing the high caliber of preacher that I was, I was absolutely sure that he would be eager to escort me into his pulpit so that his flock could be fed at my anointed feet. It turned out, to my shock and surprise, that he was not as eager as I had believed. Instead, he lovingly and patiently began to talk with me about servanthood. Did he not understand that servanthood is exactly why I had scheduled this appointment with him, so that I could SERVE the people of this church via preaching? He wasn't catching on to the prize, yours truly, sitting before him. I left his office that day feeling impatient, limited and discouraged because the meeting had not gone as I had foreseen, primarily with me showing off my gifts and strengths from the pulpit.

See, I had come from a wonderful church, back home in Tennessee, where many of the people had lauded my gifts and filled my head with dreams of Billy Graham-like grandeur. They were well-meaning, and I, well, I was arrogant and stuck on myself. It took me several years of being humbled to realize the precious gift that my pastor was trying to give me that day when he spoke to me of humility and servanthood. I wonder how many young men, like me, had paraded into his office ready to inform him that they were available to preach for him, anytime.

That day, in his office, he told me how Elisha, prior to receiving the prophet's anointing, had been prepared for leadership by serving the prophet Elijah as water carrier. At the time of Elisha’s call to ministry, the Bible states, “Then he (Elisha) arose and went after Elijah and assisted him” (1 Kings 19:21). Later on, Elisha is described as the one “who poured water on the hands of Elijah” (2 Kings 3:11). In other words, Elisha, prior to having received a double portion of his mentor’s anointing, served his master by carrying his water, washing his hands and feet, attending to his needs, etc. Now that I look back, my pastor was offering me a a gift of wisdom. He was calling me into the life of Jesus; however, I, in my foolishness, believed that he was calling me to something that was beneath me.

In his first letter, the Apostle Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (5:6). Notice who is responsible for what in this verse. We are to do the humbling, and God handles the exalting. Over the years, I have learned, oftentimes the hard way, that when I try to circumvent God’s timing by handling the calling and exaltation, God will do the humbling. See, he loves us, is after our hearts, and has a grand purpose for us, and, in order to conform us to the image of Jesus, he will, one way or the other, work humility into our lives. But, Scripture makes it clear that His best plan is for us to humble ourselves and to wait on Him for the clarification of the call (and the honoring).

Yours in Jesus,

Pastor Gary