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A connection that has become more and more clear to me is the link between humility and peace, or alternatively, between pride and anxiety. It’s not a necessarily intuitive link. Often, we think of anxiety as a weakness and pride as accompanied by self-confidence, and so we view them as opposites. However, it is the pride of self-sufficiency that leads to anxiety.

A Bible-reading approach that has been fruitful for my spiritual growth is one that I call the “that doesn’t sound right” strategy. I’ll take a chunk of Scripture, sometimes a chapter, sometimes several chapters, and as I read along, I simply wait for my mind/heart to spout out, “that doesn’t sound right.” Then, I stop reading and look back over the words that caused my reaction. Sometimes, I just didn’t understand the words and so I study them more.

Back in March, Pastor Tim preached a sermon as part of the Love One Another series on Jesus’ act of washing the disciples’ feet out of John 13. It was a fantastic sermon with tons of powerful imagery.

I’ve been reading through Exodus this past week, and one of the character traits of our Father that jumped off the pages for me is the simple recognition that God has deep compassion for the most vulnerable among us.

I expect we’re probably all familiar with the dangers of comparison. How comparing our situation to other people’s situations in any of a variety of areas robs us of contentment and peace, leading to spiritual death. Yet, despite knowing the practice of comparison is an unhealthy dead-end, we still do it. So, let’s share in a brief reminder as we fight this sin.