Hope, Humiliation and Humility

These three words have been resident in my mind for several days, so I thought I should work through the “why” of their presence.

Often when words linger there is a message for me and even others.

Here perhaps a spectrum of the emotions surely felt by any aspiring servant leader, though their main focus is always clearly on hope!

Hope is about aspirations beyond one's perception of present skills, gifts or resources.

Hope naturally frames goals high above one's self, drawing us toward growth, impact and lasting accomplishment.

Without hope, life is meaningless yet when one aspires to reach their dreams, failure seems a sure companion.

Dreamers learn to fail forward even when the worst of misfires deliver the fullest humiliation!

However, that’s where having a true companion comes into play. Not only a friend or spouse, but One who's capacity is well beyond any human limitation.

Yes, I speak of that One who knew the galaxies long before we understood heaven's canopy.

And, that’s where true humility comes into play, not seen as weakness, but rather a priceless possession that affords space for invitation of a truly inexhaustible power, available in our highest risk moments.

I've learned humility as a constant, maximizing both the Presence and power available, while reducing the probabilities of my once long repeated blunders and the humiliation that followed.

Having now tested these boundaries for over half a century, I know my possibilities, focusing less on my limitations, even as I age.

With God as my partner, the Spirit living inside this bone supported flesh, the Christ truly alive in me…"the hope of glory"…the sky with its billions of galaxies wide, is the limit.

No, there is no limit!

I can do all things, and even when failure attempts to humiliate, hope swings my soul toward humility, giving new space for the One who calls me friend!

We can then move mountains, together!