"Begin with Me"

Trouble on the wind,

And time and time again,

Look back to where we’ve been,

And pray for needed change.

But when it comes to me,

I’m satisfied, you see,

And what will be, will be,

Don’t want God’s rearrange.

But, you see, that won’t do,

To point and say the trouble’s you,

When what, my friend, is really true,

The change begins with me.

And if I always make excuse,

And find some way to then recuse,

It lights in me a bitter fuse,

And God won’t leave me be.

When it’s what you are about,

And not my sin and not my doubt,

I will have to do without,

The promised blessing then.

But if I will humbly repent,

Respond to words the Good Lord sent,

And seek sincerely what He meant,

The revival will begin.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…” (James 4:6, NLT)

It’s pride that assumes the problem is always someone else’s…If we humble ourselves it means we actually see ourselves accurately, the way God sees us, and agree with His assessment. Pride blinds and binds and grinds us into something less than human. But humility is the grace-trigger. Real spiritual renewal always begins when pride dies and humility invites grace. So be it.

Lord, help us to humble ourselves, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mikel Donahue, mikeldonahue.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mikel, and God bless you.