by natalie horne
Body, mind and soul. They are undeniably interconnected and their conditions are dependent on one another. A healthy body is not a requirement for faith and intimacy with God, but I’ve found in my experience that when I care for the basic needs of my body, my spiritual life flourishes. What we eat, whether or not we exercise, and what we do in our free time can all help or hinder our relationship with the Lord. I can say with confidence from a God-given place of wholeness in Christ, there is a very real tie between my physical wellness and the state of my soul.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
dying daily to self-centeredness.
Pride keeps us far from humility.
Self-condemnation keeps us far from grace.
Both are equally self-centered.
Since I began studying the book of Daniel with my small group this year, I’ve come to realize that I am an incredibly prideful and selfish person. Not only do I engage in self-centered self-glorification, but also quite a bit of self-condemnation, which includes negative self-talk and those “I’m not [insert what you wish you were] enough” feelings.
Not so ironically, this idea showed up in two places this week: first, in my homework for the Beth Moore study we’re going through; and second, in the text of Brennan Mannings book, “The Signature of Jesus,” which I just started reading.
Perhaps God is trying to teach me something this week?
Let’s look at the most important text—God’s Word—to uncover some of His truth…
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low (2 Samuel 22:28)
…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (Psalm 25:9)
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Daniel 4:37)
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)
For the proud (all of us, at times): “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3)
For the self-condemning (all of us, at times): “I [Jesus] am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14)
After all of my reading and researching, I find myself right at the foot of the cross. The Lord asks us to humbly receive His gifts that make us strong, and his grace that forgives our weakness. John Piper says,
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Satisfaction in the Lord is neither thinking too highly of ourselves (pride), nor thinking too low of ourselves (self-condemnation). God hates pride, and when we engage in pride we take glory away from God. But God also hates self-condemnation, because when we are filled with self-hate, we refuse His gift of grace—we say to Jesus, “That whole death on the cross thing you did just wasn’t good enough for all that I’ve done. I can’t accept it.”
Let’s live lives at the foot of His cross, dying daily to our selfish pride and self-hating thoughts. Let’s humbly give glory to the Lord in all things, and also embrace His deep love for us, that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and deeply known by our loving Father.
