Humility

“When they arrived he declared, ‘You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.’” (Acts 20:18-19 NLT)

Recently a friend sent me a video regarding one of the most influential black preachers in history. His name is William Seymour. He was a holiness preacher who is credited with initiating the Azusa Street Revival, an influential event in the rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. He was the second of eight children born to emancipated slaves and raised Catholic in extreme poverty in Louisiana.

In the meetings, while the congregation worshipped in singing, Brother Seymour would take an egg crate and put it over his head, then he’d just sit and wait before the Lord. When he’d heard from the Lord, he’d remove the egg crate, stand up and preach what the Lord shared with him. There were times when he’d not remove the egg crate, because he hadn’t heard from the Lord, and he didn’t want to risk sharing anything that he believed wasn’t from the Lord.

That’s my heart as I write these posts. Over the course of months, I’ve accumulated hundreds of ideas, but when I sit down to write, if the Lord doesn’t alert my mind and prick my spirit, informing me and showing me what He wants written, I leave it and do something else until I hear His voice. I’m quite confident there are times I don’t get it right, but that’s on me, not the Lord.

If you find these posts helpful in any way, all credit belongs to the Lord, but if any of me sneaks its ugly head onto the page, chalk it up to: “I guess the old guy wasn’t listening very carefully today!” The proverbial “proof is in the pudding.” Jackie Hill Perry wrote: “Humility is not a tone of voice. It’s a posture of the heart that shows up in how you live, not how you sound (or write).” 

Truth is truth regardless of who speaks it, but speaking truth and living truth are sometimes two different things. My goal as a man of God is to not only speak and write what the Word of God says and teaches but allow the Holy Spirit to enable me to live it out each day. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what anyone says or believes about me, if my wife and children don’t believe that I’m genuine and living what I say and write, believe what they say.

If I’m not walking the walk, I pray the Lord will prevent me from trying to talk the talk (or write the write). My life has been a hot mess that has resulted in a lot of people getting hurt. Unfortunately, I can’t change what I was or what I’ve done, I can only strive in the power of the Spirit to become all that the Lord desires of me in this moment.

Paul, in the verses above, mentions that he did the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I haven’t always understood what he meant, but in this season of my life, as I view my years of ministry in retrospect, I hear his heart more clearly.

Friend, regardless of where you are in this season of your life, know the Lord loves you and will use you in His Kingdom work, if you’re willing. Humility isn’t about words we speak or write; it’s about how we live our lives. It’s about keeping our head in the proverbial “egg crate” until we hear His voice, then standing to obey whatever He has said.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊