During my quiet time this morning, I got a text from a friend asking for prayer for her co-worker whose husband has been struggling with an addiction for some time now, and who is now in the hospital due to that addiction.  We are praying that she would find her peace and comfort in the Lord, and that her husband would come to the end of himself and seek the only One that brings freedom from addiction.
          Not long after I received that text, I read the following verse:
“The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14).
          Notice the verse says that the Lord lifts up all “who are bowed down,” not, “who are standing tall,” nor “who have picked themselves up by their bootstraps.”   This is contrary to today’s emphasis on self-help.   In order for the Lord to lift us up, we must first be bowed down–in humility, in surrender. acknowledging that we cannot help ourselves.  “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
          “Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone.  To be humble involves working with His power according to His guidance, not with our own independent effort.”i  Oh how many times I have struggled to deal with something on my own, trying to figure it all out, trying (in vain) to control the situation so it turns out the way I want it to.  While all the while, the Lord was saying, “My precious daughter, remember, you are not in control, I AM.  Let it go.  Surrender.  Humble yourself before me and let me handle this.  Listen to me.  Follow me.”  Then, after struggling, sometimes for a short while and sometimes for a long while, I finally realize that, in actuality, I have no other choice but to bow in surrender before Him.  And once I do, His precious peace floods in and He lifts me up.  Then, whether His answer comes quickly or not, whether He answers the way I want Him to or not, I can rest, knowing He is sovereign, and He will guide me in the way I should go.
          I have heard the expression, “we can bend our knee (in surrender), or He can break our leg.”
          It is written:  “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me….'” (Romans 14:11).
          Why do we struggle so in the futility of our own strength?  Let us bow joyfully, reverently, willingly, and without delay before the One who is worthy of our praise, who loves us, and who will lift us up.

Stacey Poplawski

WOC Graduate

i The Life Application Bible, New International Version Edition, Tyndale, Wheaton, IL 1991, p.2250.