John Newton Quote - Humility is the Fruit of Trust

“Assurance grows by repeated conflict, by our repeated experimental proof of the Lord’s power and goodness to save; when we have been brought very low and helped, sorely wounded and healed, cast down and raised again, have given up all hope, and been suddenly snatched from danger, and placed in safety; and when these things have been repeated to us and in us a thousand times over, we begin to learn to trust simply to the word and power of God, beyond and against appearances: and this trust, when habitual and strong, bears the name of assurance; for even assurance has degrees.”

– John Newton

Devotional: Humility is the Fruit of Trust

This is a very hard concept because many of us prefer Christianity would just bring us instant relief. Many of us prefer that once we accept Christ as our lord and savior that all or problems would go away. Of course this is hardly the case. In fact, it is only when we confront lots of conflict and lots of challenges that we can gain the change of character that allows us to truly get a level of assurance that brings us real peace. The key to all this assurance and trust of course is humility. Humility means emptying yourself of yourself and allowing space for Christ to fill you. And humility is the fruit of trust.

Christ Wants our Character

Christ doesn’t want your money. While Christ wants us to return tithes to maintain his church, it’s not your money or possession that he ultimately wants, it’s your character. When you die, you don’t wake up in heaven after the judgment with your Mercedes, or your BMW, or your big house. None of that matters. What you wake up with is your character. When we trust God, humility becomes our character. We’re not talking about fake humility but real humility-the humility that gives way to Jesus.

Our Character Reflects our Priorities

It is crucial that we develop the character that God is looking for. If you read the Bible thoroughly, God is specific as to what he is looking for. An imperfect sacrifice is no sacrifice at all. You only need to look at the sacrifice of Cain compared to the sacrifice of Abel to know exactly how this plays out. And God wants a specific type of character and humility is part of that. So to get that humility, we have to trust God fully.

Christian Humility Puts Christ First

So what kind of humility is Christ looking for since he is very precise in the kind of character that we are to develop? Well, the simple answer is that we need to put him first. Christ was clear: when you seek first the kingdom of heaven, everything else will be added to you. In other words, priorities matter. So put Christ as the front and center of your life. To do this, you need humility and that will enable us to put Christ first.

For Christ you Increase and Fears We Decrease

A simple equation, regarding humility, is that if we want Christ to increase in our lives, we have to decrease. Our fears, our focus on ourselves, and our worries have to decrease. Eventually they have to disappear completely for Christ to take full hold in our lives.

True Humility Grows From True Christian Submission

If this all sounds difficult, it absolutely is because if you’re going to do this with your own strength, it’s just not going to happen. We are all too selfish and too human to make it happen. The good news is that when we submit to Christ fully, his power takes over us and we get the strength that we need to develop real Christian humility.

Conclusion

To gain the gift of humility, we only need to do one thing and one thing alone. Trust God. Are you willing to take a leap of faith and put all your trust in God today?