The Year of Humility

I recently read about a fellow blogger who 'names' each new year.  At first, that sounded odd, I had heard of resolutions, plans, purposes etc., but to 'name a year'?   Never!  The purpose behind this was what the Lord was teaching her and changing in her. 

At the beginning of last year, I attempted to do a monthly "Journey to Excellence" .  It was a good plan where 12 subjects were chosen and I was to read, learn and blog about one subject per month.  Nice plan, but fell flat...therefore...no real change.

This year, if any resolutions were to be made, they  had to include change.  Not just a list of things I wanted to see happen,  but a deep change in heart that only the Lord could do.

A friend at church gave me a journal for Christmas.  The cover says "Every day is a gift, every moment is a blessing, every life holds a beauty of its own."  This was the perfect gift since I love journals!  In fact, I have several going...all at once!   One for family blessings, one to write spiritual insights, one for prayer requests and one for recording blessings!  But, my plan for this journal was to be a record of 2013.  As I prayed about the new year, I felt in my spirit a name for this new year - Humility. 

By nature, we are all selfish and a  bit self-centered.  This is an area where I have been challenged and the Lord is doing a work in my heart about.  The only way to true change a habit is to put in action a better habit.  The opposite of self is others, the opposite of pride is humility. 

"Humility or humbleness is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. It is the opposite of aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness, and vanity. Rather than, "Me first," humility allows us to say, "No, you first, my friend." Humility is the quality that lets us go more than halfway to meet the needs and demands of others."

As every few days, I would jot down something I read from the Bible, a theme had perked my interest - how much humility was in God's Word.  Here are a few of the Scriptures which spoke to me:

Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
Psalms 113:5-6

God has humbled Himself to behold us!  WOW! 

Righteousness will go before Him and shall make His footsteps our pathway.  Psalms 85:13

I want my pathway to be following Him.

Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.  But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.  I Corinthians 8:2-3

We are nothing without God, but when we love Him, He knows us.

So this year, my prayer is to seek and allow the Lord to fill my heart with humility.  My favorite verse so far is John 1:16 - And of His fullness we have all received and grace for grace.  Grace piled upon grace.  I need grace which He freely give and then I  can share grace.  What I cannot do or change in my life - He can. Grace for grace - what does grace look like?  I want to learn and live it out!