"Fertilizer"

I rise and go some mornings,

To the old stockyards downtown,

I help to drive the longhorns,

Twice a day they come around.

But long before the cattle drive,

We have to scoop the poop,

It takes a lot of teamwork,

We do it as a group.

But if you want to cowboy,

You need to bring a rake,

‘Cause it’s not just gettin’ horseback,

But remove the waste they make.

You better keep it humble,

‘Cause if you swell up big,

You might just find you’re fired,

If you refuse to dig.

I find that there’s a lesson,

About that solid waste,

We all just have to manage,

And if you’ve had a taste,

You know that you had better,

Adjust it in your mind,

It’s all just fertilizer,

For the dream you’ve been assigned.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…” (1 Peter 5:5, NLT)

Pride does not need indulgence. In fact, if indulged, it becomes more controlling and obnoxious. Ask any codependent who has tried to appease a manipulator and they all say the same thing: no matter what I gave it was never enough. God does not indulge our arrogance or spirit of entitlement. He resists it. Why? Because He loves us and knows that pride goes before destruction. And it’s not the Lord who does the destroying, either. It’s the selfishness that is so damaging. Humility does not earn grace, because grace is God’s undeserved favor. But humility positions us to receive it, and that’s exactly what we need. If you’re being resisted by God right now, there is a reason and He knows what it is. Ask Him to show you.

Lord, resist our pride and grace our humility, just as You promised, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.