Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Psalm 8:5-6
“5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet…”
Hebrews 2:6-11
“6 But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? 7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor 8 and put everything under their feet.’ In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what He suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
Understand:
Remember Psalm 8 is a Messianic psalm? Here, in Hebrews, the writer quotes from Psalm 8. There is a lot to delve into in this passage in Hebrews. For now, I want to focus on the Humility of Jesus.
The writer wants us see Jesus in these verses: God the Son, who came down from the Father and took on human flesh and became man. This is known as Christ’s incarnation. You can read Philippians 2:1-12 to get a better grasp of this.
Jesus had to have a body of flesh in order to die for the sins of the world. Men scoffed at this thought. They even crowned Jesus with a crown of thorns on earth, but He is now crowned with glory and honor. Christ’s humility, His willingness to lower Himself, has made a way for us to become sons and daughters of glory. Adam’s sin may have plunged us into sin and death, but it is Christ alone that allowed us to become children of God.
You see, it is God’s grace that led to Jesus’ death. In these verses, we clearly see that Jesus did not come to gain earthly status and power. No, He suffered and died so that we could have eternal life-this is what is described in Heb. 2:10. Jesus’ humility is seen in His servant attitude.
Apply:
Do you see the greatness of Jesus in His humility?
Remember that God the Father has put Jesus in charge of everything! As you and I live in the “already, not yet” reality of this world, we can find comfort as we remember Jesus’ true position and authority. He is Lord of all and one day He will rule on earth as He does in heaven.
Let the truth we find in the humility of Christ’s work on our behalf, give you steadiness as you live today and all the days He has set before you for His glory.
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.