The Scripture says, “Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Even Jesus had to humble Himself. It takes humility to walk in obedience. Without humility, Jesus could have thought, “I’m the Son of God. I don’t have to put up with the way people treat Me. I’m not going to the cross.” It was humility that caused Him to not retaliate against those who did Him wrong. Because of His humility, He could spend His life serving others when He had every right to be served. Because of His humility, He could hang on the cross and say, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
There are times when God asks us to do things that seem hard. Your flesh will rise up and tell you all the reasons why you should get even, why you don’t need to honor your spouse’s request, or why there’s no point in listening to someone’s opinion. That’s when you have to do as Jesus did and humble yourself so you can become obedient. You have to put your pride down and say, “No, I’m going to overlook their insult. I won’t demand that they do it my way. I’m not going to be too proud to admit I was wrong and ask for forgiveness.”
This is message #748, "Healed Through Humility," by Joel Osteen. For more inspirational messages, visit www.JoelOsteen.com/Messages.