Scripture
“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm, he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”
Welcome
When I was a junior in high school, I went on a mission trip to Budapest with my church. We worked with some wonderful people over there, including fellow high schoolers. There was one girl who stood out as particularly kind and thoughtful. Later in the week, we learned that she had won the “humility award” at her school the previous year. Even as high schoolers, we found it comical that someone would receive an award for their humility. The girl seemingly stayed humble, despite her accolades, but I can guarantee you any similar award would have gone straight to my head. Whether it’s thinking my teaching methods in the classroom are best, or thinking I am far and away the most qualified grocery shopper of the house, when I truly self assess, my arrogance can come out in such ridiculous ways.
In these verses, Mary is reminding us of the importance of humility. She acknowledges God’s sovereignty over all the earth. He can lift up and depose rulers (the most powerful human institutions) and He can see the most personal and private thoughts of our hearts. It is easy to read this passage and dismiss the “rulers” part. However, as you approach the passage this week, I encourage you to think about “rulers” as anyone with a sphere of influence (so yes, you are included). We have people who look up to us, whether at home, at work, or in social circles. Mary is reminding us that whatever the sphere or scope of our influence, it should be approached with a humble heart.
If I were in the business of giving out humility awards….King David would be high on the list. David, amidst his vast and powerful kingdom, approaches God with a humble heart. He recognizes the Lord reigns over the earth and is not blind to the brokenness within him. He prays a bold prayer for God to search him and look for any offensive way within him. For a deeper study into this I would encourage you to look at Psalm 130 and Psalm 139.
Lord, reveal points of pride in our lives, so that we may see it, repent and receive forgiveness.
Specifics and Logistics:
While each age group has specific questions, here are the broadly intended areas of focus for each group…
Littles:
The main focus for littles is acknowledging the ways God has gifted us and thanking God for His gifts. In giving God credit for His work in our lives, we learn what it means to walk humbly.
Bigs:
Bigs are focusing on looking at the danger of pride but also acknowledging where God has gifted us. I would encourage you to directly tell your teen the ways you see God’s gifts working in them. They can’t hear that enough!
Grownups:
Similar to bigs, we will focus on exposing pride in our own lives, praying for humility for our family, and considering God’s sovereignty over the Earth.
User Update:
We delayed our Paw Patrol episode by 15 minutes to do our devotional Monday evening. You can imagine not everyone was particularly enthused. Nonetheless, we ended up having a great discussion with our kids. Humility is a hard concept to teach and even harder to implement. So our approach in discussing the questions was to acknowledge gifts and talents we have been given, then to point those gifts back to God with thanksgiving. It was interesting how different children answered the questions- one focused on tangible gifts from God, while another focused on skills. When I wrote the devotional, I was initially thinking about spiritual gifts and how those come from God. However, after hearing different children’s interpretations and debriefing with Mark afterwards, I was reminded that pride can creep into so many aspects of our life. So whether we are talking about possessions, work, wealth, or spiritual gifts, God wants us to approach all that we have with open hands and a humble heart.
Thanks to those of you who made it this far! If you are a paid subscriber, keep scrolling for attached devotion. Regardless, I hope you can reflect on the power of the Lord as you go about your week. You’ll be hearing back from me next Friday!
-Anne