Uplifting Humility

UV 1163/ 10,000 

Now the man Moses was very humble, more  so than any man on the face of the earth.

Numbers 12 v 3

Moses lowered himself before God and exalted The Lord higher and higher. When we likewise humble ourselves before God  we qin the favour of God,  He clothes us with His grace.  He fills us with His spirit and anoints us.  Moses began his life as an aggressive person and He even vented his anger against an Egyptian for oppressing his fellow Jews by attacking him and killing him. But forty years in the wilderness caring for the sheep of his father in law broke his spirit and he learnt his life lessons there.   We too when we are called to tend, lead and feed spiritual sheep are to become like the good shepherd, Jesus - exceedingly gentle and unusually humble.

The Lord resists the proud but gives grace to he humble. Moses never needed to defend himself against the accusations and insinuations of Aaron and his sister Miriam. The Lord judged and punished them for their careless and unkind utterances against the leadership of Moses.  Those who murmured against him suffered the consequences.  The Lord takes it personally when those He esteems  or holds in favour are unjustly criticised.  

The Lord found there was no trace of even hidden pride in Moses even though He had enabled him to perform amazing miracles in order to deliver the Israelites from the yoke of slavery.  Moses yielded himself completely to The Lord.  He did not consider himself worthy of leading the Israelites.  He knew that he was called to do so not on account of merit or ability or leadership qualities but due yo the sheer grace of God.   He did not consider himself better in any way than any of his fellow Israelites.   He did not have a spirit of entitlement on account of his God ordained and  anointed position as leader.  He simply  did the tasks assigned by The Lord just as the staff in his hands obeyed him. 

Prateep V Philip

Gifts from within and above

God ‘s gifts are precious and are from within
Pro 17:8 A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.

The best that men can do is to give gifts that are finite and physical but God’s gifts are from within. The wise men brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold would have been useful to finance the family for a period of time. The frankincense and myrrh would have been useful in their worship and sacrifice. But, in due course all they would have run out of these gifts.

But , the gift that the Lord gives us is from within. It endures. He gives the gift of love from within. The gift of faith is from within. The gift of wisdom is, too. He gives strength to endure from within. He gives talents and abilities from within. The talent to speak or write or sing or act or dance. Memory is a natural gift. He gives the ability to lead and to inspire, to plan and execute great projects. He gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit from within: to administer, to minister and to manifest. He gives the gift of prophecy. The internal gifts can be intellectual, emotional or spiritual. Samson was given strength as a gift from within. There are natural and supernatural giftings. These gifts apparently are far greater than the gifts that are external and physical. The God-given gifts causes us to prosper whichever way we turn.


Gifts from within need to be handled with care, diligence and responsibility. We need to hone these gifts to their logical and ultimate potential. We need the grace and humility to handle such great gifts so that they do not destroy us. Sometimes people loose sight of the preciousness of the gift and instead it becomes a millstone around their neck to drag them down. Many of the icons of the modern era are gifted beyond their ability to handle it wisely and effectively. Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods are two such examples. They become in due course ‘legends with leg-ends or feet of clay’ that crumble under pressure of fame or temptation or trouble and destroy the rest of the edifice they built on a shaky foundation. We, as believers must earnestly seek and receive gifts for ourselves and our children from within but with the gift seek wisdom and grace to use it appropriately. We need to be thankful to the Lord for these and know that nothing we did or can do, could have got us these gifts but it came as a grace. A certain member of my family was one day taking pride over the way he looked as a young man. I reminded him, “ What did you do to achieve it?”



Prateep V Philip