Psalm 86:1 - Humility

hullo! =)

my blog has been dormant for ages... well, this morning for my Quiet Time i was meditating on Psalm 86:1-4, and it is just amazing to me how rich in meaning these 4 short verses are. so i decided to share my thoughts on it here, for the few who may read it.

for today, i will just share my thoughts on the first verse... it says, "Hear, O Lord, and answer me; for i am poor and needy." as i read this first verse of Psalm 86, it seems to me that David's attitude to God here, is an attitude of humility in spiritual poverty.

What does it mean to be humble? it means having a realistic view of oneself. to think too highly of self is pride; we are familiar with this. but to think too lowly of self is also an inverted form of pride. for example, people often think that they are "not good enough" to serve God. at the face of it, this sounds good and humble. but consider the fact that God does consider us good enough to serve Him; in the Bible, we find Him graciously working with less-than-perfect people all the time. see for example, Noah the drunkard; Abraham the liar; Jacob the conman; Moses the murderer; David the adulterer; and the list goes on. with that in mind, when we consider ourselves "not good enough", we are in effect placing ourselves higher than God. by God's standard, we are good enough; but our standard is higher than God's, and we think we are "not good enough". when you look at it that way, it doesn't seem humble anymore, does it? rather, it is a kind of horribly inverted pride.

if we have a realistic view of ourselves, we will realise that we really need God. we are nothing and can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). sure, we may be able to make lots of money, build towering skyscrapers, have all kinds of seemingly impressive successes and achievements - but without God, on the scale of Eternity, all that is simply nothing.

this realisation is a realisation of our spiritual poverty. even if i had a gazillion dollars (i wish! =P), i would still need God desperately. when we realise this truth, then we will say together with David, "Hear, O Lord, and answer me; for i am poor and needy."

so, let's all go through the rest of this day (or tomorrow, if you're reading this at night) remembering how much we need God, and seeking Him in humility. we tend to rush through the day, depending on our own strength and wits to get us through the day (or at least, i do!). as we ponder Psalm 86:1 throughout this day (or tomorrow), let us remember God, remain connected to Him in prayer, be aware of His presence with us, and learn to be humbly dependent on Him in all that we do.

Amen! =)