48. Exalted
Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
If you humble yourself, then you will be exalted. This principle of the created universe runs throughout Scripture in stories, parables, prophecies, psalms, proverbs and sayings. It has a literary name: The Great Reversal. It is most obviously and blatantly seen in the humiliation (virgin conception and birth, suffering, death and burial) and the exaltation (descent to hell, raised from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits at right hand and will come to judge) of Jesus.
We need to believe this promise so that can more faithfully endure the hardships and adversities of life with an uncomplaining joy. We learn and become strong when we thrive under the humbling hand of God, when we maintain our composure in the most difficult circumstances when God is doing a work in us, when we remain faithful to praise God and trust Him even when it seems like He is letting us down.When we believe the promise of a coming exaltation we will hang on and rejoice in the face of pain and suffering. If we believe that life will never change and things will never get better we will be tempted to give up in despair, to be disappointed in God, and to ultimately ignore and reject Him.
It is true that the prideful, selfish, sinful human being cannot “humble himself,” for he is not capable of choosing or doing that. To “humble oneself” is to allow oneself to be humbled under the chastising hand of Almighty God, admitting that one is a sinner needing correction, repenting in dust and ashes, turning to God for help when all seems lost, knowing that discipline later yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. It is praising God anyway and believing that God is always good.
If we believe Jesus was humiliated for us and exalted for us, then we believe that we die with Him (are humbled) and rise with Him (are exalted). The Father humbled and exalted His Son; Jesus humbles and exalts us.