Spiritual Leverage
Spiritual Leverage
by Mike Powers
Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write the poem America the Beautiful after a visit to Pikes Peak in 1893 in a covered wagon with fellow teachers from Colorado College. Little did she know that those words would become one of the most patriotic songs in the history of our country. As we celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation, America the Beautiful is being sung with passion and pride in concerts, churches and ballparks across the land as a tribute to the highest ideals of our nation. The refrain is a supplication for God’s intervention:
“America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!”
Contemplating the familiar words of this refrain, one must wonder why should God shed His grace upon our country and crown our goodness with brotherhood? This is a proper prayer and noble notion, but as inspiring as these words may be, are they taken seriously? An adage goes, “Methodists don’t tell lies; they sing them.” When Americans sing America the Beautiful with such devotion and passion, do we sincerely desire the intervention of God’s Spirit and seriously yearn for unity across our nation or are these merely words we mindlessly sing in church on national holidays?
We also may ask why we dare to ask God to be gracious to the United States of America? We obviously need such an infusion of divine benevolence, but are we trustworthy of such gifts? Another adage advises, “Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.” Jesus stated it very bluntly: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48, NIV). According to Jesus, we are stewards of grace, responsible for all the blessings God has lavishly shared with us.
The Experience of God’s Grace
Upon whom, therefore, is the grace of God shed? The biblical answer is quite simple.
But he gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble and oppressed (Proverbs 3:34).
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5:6).
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way (Psalm 25:9).
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).
Note the common thought in these verses: humility is spiritual leverage. Humility is the catalyst, a means of grace, the very power of God for the spiritual transformation of the individual, the church and the nation. The Word of God consistently decrees that God sheds his grace upon the humble. On the other hand, God resists, ignores, and opposes the proud. Pride is spiritual sabotage. Nothing hinders the presence of God and destroys human relationships (community) more quickly or completely than being self-serving, self-seeking, self-willing, self-satisfying. If we are serious when we petition God to shed his grace upon our nation, our communities, our churches, our families, ourselves, we choose the path of humility – God’s will, first and foremost.
Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
in this free land with thee our lot is cast;
be thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,
thy Word our law, thy paths our chosen way.
—Daniel C. Roberts (1876)
The Expression of God’s Grace
The Christian life has been explained as a heartbeat, the rhythmic expansion and contraction of the arteries as the heart pumps blood through the body. Which activity is more important: expansion as blood flows into the heart or contraction when blood is sent out of the heart? That rhythm of blood flowing in and then being pushed out is our lifeline. Both, of course, are needed to be healthy and alive.
Likewise, the normal, healthy Christian life is an experience and an expression of grace. Humility is the leverage point for a healthy heart spiritually.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus; who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8
If we genuinely desire to experience the grace of God and responsibly, as stewards, express our desire to be a “brotherhood” (an authentic, healthy, growing, loving community), it begins by having the heartbeat and mind of Christ who came to serve and not be served. Such humility gives leverage to grace in the daily stuff of life, beginning with our loved ones who are close and extending across our spheres of influence. God’s grace is shed generously through the Christlike attitude of valuing all others above ourselves. Another adage, popularized by President Harry Truman, goes: “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” God is ready and willing and able to shed his grace upon anyone and everyone who is ready and willing to humble themselves.
Impossible? Too naïve? Simplistic? Unrealistic? Several thousand years of human history confirm that humility is the road much less traveled while Scripture reveals that God’s ways are contrary to human wisdom. Jesus’ life and words affirm that true greatness is demonstrated in humble service. The apostle Paul noted, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (I Corinthians 1:27).
An Example of God’s Grace: Radical Humility
Every now and then there is a clear witness of the reality of spiritual leverage. God shows up, and through a person or an event, we experience an uplift of grace. Many of us were blessed to observe such a moment at the Outpouring on the campus of Asbury University in February 2023.
Spontaneous revivals have occurred often throughout the years of Asbury University (College). Many books and articles have been written as scholars, Christian leaders, sociologists, et al have sought to understand and explain these spiritually awakening experiences. The availability to announce this latest movement of the Holy Spirit at Asbury across the world immediately on the internet created a phenomenon quite different from previous revivals when the communication and impact of the awakening were much slower. Within hours, thousands of people gathered in Wilmore from across the nation and around the world to experience God’s Presence in Hughes Auditorium and other venues provided for the overflow.
Almost as rapidly, skeptics questioned the legitimacy of this remarkable experience as an authentic spiritual “revival.” Several called for its excitement to be tempered and its value to be validated in terms of social justice and cultural transformation. I regret that these critics were posting comments from afar, having not been on campus nor engaged personally with anyone on site. As one who was present and involved with seekers and believers in Hughes Auditorium, the confirmation of the Spirit’s presence and power that I observed during the Outpouring can best be expressed in two words often repeated by others during those two weeks: radical humility. The authenticity, transparency, and vulnerability of the students broke our hearts as we heard their confessions, saw their brokenness, felt their pain, admired their honesty, and celebrated their joy as they humbled themselves before the Lord. Their radical humility was spiritual leverage for more than a college campus in a small town in Kentucky. As noted, thousands upon thousands of people descended on Wilmore with their brokenness, pain, and desperation. Students from other colleges arrived from all over the nation. People of all ages dared to fully surrender their lives and wholly follow the Lord. Eventually, they journeyed home with peace, hope and unalloyed joy, stewards of God’s grace shed abroad in their hearts. But he gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble and oppressed (Proverbs 3:34). The legitimacy of the Outpouring continues to be affirmed through radically humble souls who have become a means of grace to a world desperately needing an uplift.
If we are serious when we sing patriotic songs, properly asking God to shed his grace upon us, and pledge our allegiance to become one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, the leverage point is right there in front of us: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Our greatness as a nation can never be determined nor adequately measured by our might or power, personalities or political proclivities. God will raise us up only at the point of truthfulness, obedience, faithfulness and radical humility. That begins with us who claim his name.
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
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