STEP SEVEN

We humbly asked Him
to remove our shortcomings.

  • My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
    I do not see the road ahead of me.
    I cannot know for certain where it will end.
    Nor do I really know myself, and the fact
    That I think I am following your will
    Does not mean that I am actually doing so.

    But I believe that the desire to please you
    does in fact please you. And I hope
    I have that desire in all that I am doing.
    I hope that I will never do anything
    apart from that desire. And I know
    that if I do this you will lead me
    by the right road, though I may
    know nothing about it.

    Therefore will I trust you always
    Though I may seem to be lost
    and in the shadow of death.
    I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
    And you will never leave me
    to face my perils alone.

    THOMAS MERTON

DIRECTION

  • Humility may be harder for us than ever, but humility is necessary to approach God and ask him to remove our character defects.

    In Scripture, the important question is “What kind of person can God work with?” God can work with a humble spirit because it is open to him.

    The Three Ps
    Read through the descriptions below.
    Decide which of the three Ps is hardest for you to give up.

    • No Pretending

    • No Presuming

    • No Pushing

  • Along the way we are going to have troubling emotions. We want to OWN (observe, welcome, name) our troubling emotions rather than enthroning them.

    Practice OWNing

    Awareness is a skill that can be learned. For instance, you can take five or ten minutes during the day to pay attention to what you are doing with your body. This might involve motions as simple as crossing your legs, scratching your skin, or tapping repetitively. I have a good friend who could never eat without mov- ing his plate and glass and silverware a tiny bit—but he never noticed it until someone pointed it out!

    Or you can take five or ten minutes of quiet and notice what sensations are present in your body. Are your shoulder muscles tense? Is your throat scratchy? Are your teeth clenched?

    Or you could take a little time in quiet to simply listen to that voice that is prattling on inside your head. What is it saying? You could notice the thoughts that come to you when you’re not trying to do or think anything in particular.

    The only way to “hear from yourself” is to sit quietly and listen. And then you can bring all negative thoughts and destructive feelings and defects of char- acter to God.

    Humbly ask him to remove them. In his time. In his way. Humbly embrac- ing the dog in the meantime, trusting that he will know best when it is time for you to be freed.

  • Drop the Rock of “Mine”

    We often think of our character defects as simply the wrong things we’ve done, but the real problem is the patterns of thought and feeling that lie beneath them.

    We all carry “the rock”—whether it be our resentments, bitterness, and memories of being wronged, or our stubbornness and refusal to seek help. Over time, the rock becomes our life.

    When we drop the rock, we are releasing the deep folly of the word mine.

    This week release the word “my” and “mine”.

Encouraging quotes and scripture

  • Philippians 2:5-8:

    • "Being in very nature God... he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross" (A reference to Christ's ultimate humility) .

    James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5:

    • "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" .

    John 8:7 (Jesus and the adulterous woman):

    • "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (The basis of the metaphor "Drop the rock") .

  • Dallas Willard:

    • "God will gladly give humility to us if, trusting and waiting on him to act, we refrain from pretending we are what we know we are not, from presuming a favorable position for ourselves, and from pushing or trying to override the will of others"

    Sam Shoemaker:

    • "We surrender as much of ourselves to as much of God as we understand... God will reveal to us as much truth as we’re able to live up to. When we live up to the truth we have, then we’re ready for more. That’s the deal" .

    C.S. Lewis:

    • From The Screwtape Letters: "Encourage the sense of ownership in people... Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours" .

    Dallas Willard:

    • "The main thing God gets out of our life is the person we become" .

    C.S. Lewis:

    • On pride: "Pride is the complete anti-God state of mind" .

    Sam Shoemaker:

    • A paraphrased principle: "God can’t help us remove our character defects if we keep practicing them" .

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  • What would it look like for you to embrace humility, as modeled by Jesus?

    In what areas of your life do you struggle with the sense of ownership or entitlement?

    What "rocks" of resentment, shame, or control are you still holding onto? What steps can you take to release them and embrace forgiveness or healing?

    How does the idea of surrendering "as much of yourself to as much of God as you understand" challenge you to live out your faith in practical ways? What is a small step you can take to grow in this surrender?

Pray for each other to close.

Continue to Step Eight