Category Archives: Humility

Nov4

Diarrhea and My Always Faithful God

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After eight long months, the diarrhea is gone. Thank God, He healed me. I haven’t had any episodes in about a month. Nothing significant happened, like no one laid hands on me or anything. I prayed and asked God to heal me, as I had been doing all along, and He answered. The diarrhea just stopped. I can eat normal foods now, and I am so grateful!

THANK GOD!! HALLELUJAH!!

God gets all the glory for this, that’s for sure. Jesus is my Healer and no one else!

I first began to get an inkling that maybe I was healed when I was able to eat an In-N-Out cheeseburger with no ill effects. I wasn’t totally sure at first, but I’ve been eating them every other week now for over a month with no diarrhea, or anything bad at all, and next time I’m going to try a version of Animal Fries along with my cheeseburger.

It’s such a joy to be able to eat whatever I want, and I’ll never again complain about my food, because I had to go without for so long. Now I eat every bite with gratitude, and I relish the flavor. I hope I never forget! The only silver lining is that I lost about twenty-four pounds, and hopefully I haven’t gained any of it back now that I can eat again.

I think I’ve learned to rely more strongly and closely on God through all of this, and I had to trust that He was still there and listening even though it didn’t seem like He was answering my prayers. I’ve come to realize that I have to keep on praying and not give up, like the Parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1-8.

Sometimes I felt like God was tormenting me because I kept on having episode after episode of diarrhea, and there were days that felt like I was in the diarrhea day from Hell, it was so bad. But I just had to keep on praying and believing that God was still with me, and He was still answering my prayers, because the Bible says that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

6“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of [these nations]; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. … 8And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:6, 8, NKJV.

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. ~ Joshua 1:5, NLT.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. ~ Isaiah 41:10, NKJV.

1But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. ~ Isaiah 43:1-2, NKJV.

Plus, compared to what Jesus went through on the Cross, my problems are nothing. I’ve come to the conclusion that God is much more interested in our character development than He is in our happiness. Happiness is temporary, but the joy produced by developing the character of Christ is deep-seated and permanent, and something I greatly desire.

17For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, ESV.

I think that’s about it. I’ve said about all I have to say, though I want to end with a Scripture verse, not my own words. Scripture is much more powerful than my words ever thought of being.

21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ~ Lamentations 3:21-23, NKJV.

May20

God Likes Humility

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The dictionary definition of humility is, the quality of a modest view of one’s value or importance. Another way of thinking about it is this,

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don’t think of themselves.” ~ Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 148.

The above quote has been misattributed to C.S. Lewis many times, but it’s actually Rick Warren who said it in The Purpose Driven Life.

Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth. ~ Numbers 12:3, Christian Standard Bible.

But the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.” So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9, Easy-to-Read Version.

I want more than anything to have Christ’s power to stay in me! I don’t want it to ever, EVER leave me, because if God’s power left, that would mean God left, and I couldn’t live with that!

8Three different times I begged God to make me well again. 9Each time he said, “No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities. 10Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about “the thorn,” and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, The Living Bible.

For me, humility is simply admitting and accepting that I need God. I need Him every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I can’t do anything without Him. I need Him with every particle of my being. I need His wisdom. I need His help, and most of all, I need His salvation to save me from my Self and my sinfulness. I can accept my weakness, because, as Paul said, when I am weak, then I am strong. The weaker I am, the more I have to depend on God’s power.

Sometimes accepting my own weakness is a hard thing to do, especially when I make a mistake. I struggle with pride, because it’s very difficult for me to accept that I’m not perfect. I had to be perfect when I was little, and of course, there was no way I could be, so when I made a mistake I suffered terrible consequences because of it. I know I struggle with pride, and that’s one of the many reasons I need God, because it’s only with God’s help that I can let go of my pride. I don’t know if it’s possible for a human to be free of pride this side of Heaven, but I think it’s a good goal to strive for with God’s help. I suppose that’s the essence of humility ~ to be free of pride and recognize that I can’t do anything on my own without God.

God makes fun of those who make fun of the truth but gives loving-favor to those who have no pride. ~ Proverbs 3:34, New Life Version.

But God shows us even more kindness. Scripture says, “God opposes arrogant people, but he is kind to humble people.” ~ [Proverbs 3:34], James 4:6, Names of God Bible.

Sometimes I’m just overwhelmed at God’s goodness in my life! His mercy and kindness towards me are absolutely unfathomable at times, but I think that’s one of those things I’ll have to accept at face value, because regardless of whether I get it or not, I don’t think it’s going anywhere, and I’m certainly not going to reject it. That would be a world-class dumb thing to do. I love God and need Him in my life too much to want His presence, mercy, and kindness to leave. I need the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit just as much. All three persons of the Trinity are invaluable in my life. I can’t live without them, and thankfully I don’t have to!

Thankfully I don’t have to! Hallelujah!