Jesus is better than my pride

Jesus is better than my pride

pride

I was frozen, standing on a 45% slope, a 45-pound backpack secured to my back, moving scree rock echoing under each step and all around my feet with a steep cliff one half of a football field away from me. I did not have control over my footing and knew that one more step was going to send me sliding out of control toward the cliff…and…I…froze.

“Leslie, are you stuck?”

Someone noticed that I was stuck and reached out a hand to help me. But, I didn’t want to admit that I was absolutely stuck, frozen to the sliding earth. I knew that I couldn’t safely navigate the twelve short feet in front of me. I had to admit defeat. I was stuck and I needed help. It was time to practice 1 Peter 5:5, “Clothe yourself in humility.”

Soon after, two hikers behind me got stuck in the same spot I did. As a result, the whole group had to change course. Read that again, my inability to move stopped the forward progress of those behind me. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling (Proverbs 16:18).

We opted to go back, away from the scree that danced under our feet, and we encountered significant obstacles even on our new route. But on this new path, we were a new team. When I surrendered my pride and humbly accepted help to move off a dangerous slope, the Lord created an avalanche inside the hearts of three people who were also stuck. When our collective and individual weakness was exposed, God’s strength pulled us together. We no longer moved as four individuals but as one unit.

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” -John 13:34

 We were made to be in community with one another and to navigate life together. It’s much easier to navigate a challenging ‘slope’ together than to do it alone.

I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that less than four days later, I would find myself on a different mountain, on a different slope, with a completely different crew of people, and encounter the exact same situation. Only this time I got to sacrifice my safety, reach out my hand, and help someone else who was stuck. The cycle of humility and sacrifice continued. At this moment, the hand-crafted God-sized lesson didn’t escape me.

When motivated by love, an act of sacrifice for God’s eternal purpose never returns void. 

Take a moment to read John 12:1-8. 

The story of Mary anointing Jesus with perfume is a story of sacrifice and humility. The perfume filled alabaster jar that Mary used to clean Jesus’ feet with was expensive, it had to be cracked open, it had to be broken. It was both cherished and sacrificial to use, arguably to the people in the room, even wasteful. So, when she used this perfume, including her tears and her hair as a cloth to wipe his feet, Mary offered her complete humility.

What I find so compelling is Jesus’ response to her worshipful sacrifice. While Mary, a sinful woman, was being shamed by the Pharisee’s in the room her former sins and current actions, she was adored by Jesus and publicly forgiven. Her humility and sacrifice did not return void.

I stood frozen, and a sacrificial hand was extended to me. Days later, a participant in my group stood frozen, and I extended the same hand. The storyline may have looked different but the parallel detail that connects both events is both humility and sacrifice. In these experiences our sacrifice didn’t mean that we gave something up for nothing, the pleasure in completing the planned route was given up for something that was worth so much more, community. The sacrifice made for me became the sacrifice I made for another. The God of the universe creates a ripple in the water among his people and as we embrace opportunities to sacrifice, may we all be like Mary, so in love with the eternal Father and his eternal purpose that any sacrifice we offer is an immediate response motivated by love alone.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” -Hebrews 13:16

In the comments below, share about a time when you had to be humble and receive help. How did God work through that situation? 

 

Leslie, a Platoon 19 graduate, is a Lead Instructor for RevWild and a Shepherd for Rim to Him Grand Canyon crossings. She loves hiking, backpacking, and cycling and creates opportunities to share the hope God offers in the wilderness to anyone willing to say “yes”. Follow her adventures on Instagram and Facebook

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TAMMY’S CIRCUIT TRAINING – “ NO TREASURES ON EARTH”

A circuit is a way of incorporating muscle diversity with a variety of movements while allowing you time to practice and perfect the move. You will go through a series of cardiovascular, agility, power, or strength-training stations, then return back through the cycle of stations in order to practice the movement while stirring up your heart rate intensity.(ADVANCED) (MATTHEW 6:19-21; HAND WEIGHTS, JUMP ROPE & YOGA MAT)

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10 Responses

  1. I was stuck in a life of sexual sin, Much like thE woman at Jesus’ feet. When i was finally broken and stripped of myself, i was able to receive help from God through my church and Family/friends. It Was an EXCRUCIATINGLY painful time in my life but im so GRATEFUL for God’s refining fire. So, as Scripture tells us, we are freed to free others! Now i’m not afraid to share my story- a story that most would Consider absolutely shameful- because its a God sTory; its a story of what he’s done and can do for others. And i share it because i know im not alone in this struggle, and i know god can Use it to set others free. God DOESN’T waste our pain, hes faithful in our surrender. He is “El Roi” -The God who sees me!

    1. Thank you for sharing your story, Aarica! We’re so thankful that you’re here and that you are free to set others free!

  2. I cant even begin to tell you how much i needed this blog today. I’ve started wellness revelation and i aM learning so much about myself. Questions are being answered. Thank You JesUs for forgiving my sins. I am so gery Grateful

    Amen !
    Cathy

  3. Well done, friend. So true. So blessed to be on the receiving end of your sacrifice in the canyon. Something I will never forget. Love to you!

  4. I was a single mom to two boys. I was sick and needed help getting food and medicine. I kept telling people i was fine. Finally out of desperation i Confessed my pRide to Jesus and accepted help. We were all cliser in the spirit ad a result as well as having our basic needs met.

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