It takes humility to take the first three steps—the surrender steps.
They seem so desperate, like I’m throwing in the towel on my life. Like I’m giving up every bit of personal power.
And I am. But in the most counter-intuitive and paradoxical way, these steps toward powerlessness are quite literally steps toward power.
Through these steps we come down into the depths of humility, as described by Jacob:
And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility he will not open unto them (2 Nephi 9:42).
Just as that verse states, if we let these steps bring us down into the depths of humility, we will find God waiting to open unto us.
We discover that we’ve spent our whole lives trying to connect with God through being the best, thinking that we’ll find him at the top of the ladder of our success, amidst the acclaim and applause. Instead, we find He’s right there in in the depths of humility with us.
He’s in the stable, not the inn.
In the streets, not the Sanhedrin.
In the homes of the lowliest and most humble people in society.
Among the little children.
And dare I say it aloud? Dare I even suggest it? Among the addicts.
Indeed, He is among us fools, those of us who admit we are powerless against our addictions, whatever they may be.
In the midst of our struggle and the depths of our humility, we finally find the power of God to heal us, and we can say, like Paul, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given.” (Ephesians 3:8).
See also Grace in the Bible Dictionary.
~Colleen H.
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