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As many of you know, we are a military family; recently, we lived in Japan for a few years. It was an incredible season of spiritual growth, birthed through some of the most challenging circumstances for our family and the ministries the Lord had called us to in our community through the pandemic. I met and became close friends with an incredible woman who gave
me a small Bible study book on the blessings of humility by focusing on the beatitudes.
I have known of, read, and studied the beatitudes over the years. However, this was my first time seeing them through this lens. It had initially come up in conversation because our women’s Bible study was kicking off a new year, and we were drawn to the passage from Ephesians 4:1-2, which is also the opening passage in the book’s first chapter. Little did I know that this little book would be so revitalizing for me.
“I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:1-2 (ESV)
The first thing Paul mentions in this passage about walking in a manner worthy of the calling is humility. Having the opportunity to dwell with the Lord and be reminded of what true humility looks like as a follower of Christ was sweet and refreshing. It also had its moments where there was a pang of conviction when I realized I hadn’t been walking in it the way He intended.
I am grateful to God for His kindness to me when He reveals the areas where I fall short, otherwise I could be incredibly discouraged. I praise God for His forgiveness and sweet grace in those moments. The depth of humility He opened my heart to receive was and still is life-changing because it expanded my understanding of who HE is. This experience and the many days since have allowed me to see more completely His heart for us as believers and the depth of which He empowers us to walk in His ways. What a blessing. It’s not an easy path, yet He is with me.
In the midst of lifes weariest of journeys, He has the power to re-ignite our hearts and minds to serve Him while walking in complete humility with Him. AND He gives us sweet friends to walk with us.
The key ingredient to walking, as He has called us, is humility. In many ways, the other precepts and disciplines He calls us to flow through this. Christ, in His very nature, was humble, and the concept of humility was scattered throughout His teachings. He did not use the actual word [humility] often. However, Paul and Peter addressed the subject of humility pretty regularly in their letters. We are commanded to walk in the discipline of humility as followers of Christ, and though it is counter-cultural to do so, God has promised to give us grace as we seek it. Hallelujah!!
I love how Pastor Jerry Bridges in his book, The Blessing of Humility, refers to the Beatitudes as “a portrait of humility in action.” I think we would all agree that Christ’s life exemplified the same.
When I think back to our time in Japan and all that I experienced, I am grateful that a simple book recommendation turned into a heart filled with more passion and a yearning to continually seek humility with God’s grace. I thought my walk with Him was vibrant before - yet there was more. There is always more IN Christ.
How about you? Do you desire to draw nearer to the Lord? To have more connection and understanding with who He is?
I have found that studying and diving deeper in the Bible and the meaning in its stories is where the Lord draws my heart nearer to Him. It is also where I understand more about who I am as a believer and follower of Christ.
Over the next several months, we will be featuring a series of blogs and tidbits on The Beatitudes from a variety of friends of HFM. We pray this will be an enriching time for you as you explore it with us. We are overwhelmed with joy for this blessing and can’t wait to share it with you!
Please join us on the first Monday of each month starting in APRIL to explore more of The Beatitudes on our website www.humblefaithministires.com/blog
Erin Nonaka is a Co-Founder and the Director of Communications and Community at Humble Faith Ministries. She is an experienced worship leader, Bible teacher, and leadership trainer. Her heart yearns for women to be equipped and walk boldly for Jesus in every season of life. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and two of her three sons.