Humble Leaves

God is such an artist. The autumn season is one of the most amazing displays of His creativity. Every year as the season approaches, I anticipate being enlightened by His marvelous works. The excitement of His revelation never gets old, and He never fails to satisfy my desire to become more enamored by His uniqueness. He is truly a rewarder of those who diligently seek to know Him.

Early one morning, a couple of weeks ago, I took my dog for a walk on the trail near our home. As we went, the evidence of the end of a lingering summer was apparent: crisp air, a sweeping breeze, and the leaves were changed. The display of various hues of red, orange, yellow, and brown was spectacular. There was one tree in particular that caught my eyes. It was an enormous maple turned like the color of pure gold. It was stunning. As I stood captured by the beauty of it, I began to whisper to God about how His creations declare His glory. The longer I stared at the tree, I noticed the details of its transition. Most of the tree was full of bright yellow leaves, but there were many leaves now on the ground. The very top of the tree was completely bare and the leaves were thinning out as my eyes traveled down. The middle was fully dressed in gold, but surely on its way to being bare as well. Then, I noticed the lowest layer of leaves on this tree. They were as healthy and green as summertime.

As I scanned the tree with my eyes, I talked to God. He, as He often does, began speaking back to me. In His still, small voice, He spoke to my spirit about the lowest position: humility. I saw the leaves, which had the highest position, reaching into the heavens. They received most of the sunshine all spring and summer long. The birds paid homage to them by resting on their high branches, singing beautiful hymns on comfortable mornings. They were the first to receive the refreshing drops of rain when it fell from the clouds. They were able to dance the hardest when the summer winds blew. These high leaves, which were no more and no less part of the maple tree than any of the other leaves, seemed to be most fortunate when the weather was fairest. But now, when the conditions were changing, and the day’s sunshine was limited, and the warmth of the air was chilled, these leaves were lacking. They were highest on the tree, but furthest from the source of nutrition and had no protection from the harsher elements. The low leaves, however, had the advantage. Not only were they sheltered by the higher leaves, but they were also receiving the most nourishment from the bottom of the tree. See, the roots pull nutrients from the ground and feed them up the tree through the branches and into the leaves. So, when the richness of summer’s sunshine, warm air, and rain cocktail is minimal, the tree begins to shed the things it can no longer support. It takes a lot more of the tree’s energy to push nutrients way up to the top of the tree, and in the fall, there are fewer nutrients to spare. Those closest to the roots get what’s given, and everything higher goes without. Those humble leaves, that grew in spring with all the other leaves, who never got to show their beauty to onlookers from miles away, are the ones who outlasted all the others. They are the ones who got to prove the tree was still a source of life after the others had lost their good fortune. Yes, eventually, the tree would have to let the lowest and closest leaves also experience the drought of winter, but not without first satisfying them with long life.

Humility is the decision which keeps us closest to God. When we bring our thoughts of ourselves to the most humble place and recognize that we should not so much as take our next breath without first acknowledging that it comes from Him, we find that the lowest position before God is the most stable and secure position in life. He is the source of all we need to live well. When God speaks of humility in His word, He attaches the benefits of it. Grace, promotion, strength, happiness, protection, deliverance, courage, direction, peace, long life, restoration, wisdom, forgiveness, mercy, fruitfulness, honor, favor with God and man, recognition in the Kingdom of Heaven, and above all, closeness to Him are the promises to those who choose humility as a response to the Most High God. Clearly, being humble is not about being at the bottom, beneath everything else, or hidden. God wants His humble people to shine and do great things for His glory. Being humble is about recognizing that it is because of Him that we are anything, and without Him, we are nothing. It’s about making a decision to stay as connected to Him as possible, which means acknowledging that He is the one who is holy and in order to stay in fellowship with Him, we must deny our own desires and become holy, too.

When we’re prideful – thinking we have any wisdom, understanding, or accomplishment apart from our Creator – God stretches out His arm toward us to keep us at a distance. He says, you’re too high. I can’t support you up there, and He uses distance to help us recognize our need for Him. We need to be taught, like the high leaves which are the first to be shed to the ground, that He has the power to break us and bring us low. But we’re not soulless trees, so even when God’s response to our pride causes us to hit rock bottom, He doesn’t force us to become humble. He still leaves humility as a free-will choice. It is a requirement if we ever want to thrive, but He won’t make us do it. In His word, He repeatedly says, “humble YOURSELVES.” He tells us to abandon our independence, consider ourselves as children, recognize His wisdom over all earthly knowledge, and tremble at His supremacy over all flesh. He requires that we get as low as possible, bowing before Him in our hearts, and yielding our lives to serve Him and declare that He is God.

The evidence of our humility is in the quality of our lives. It’s not in the treetops and the sunshine, the status and glamour. No. It’s in the integrity and stability. It’s in the ability to be a display of God’s grace and goodness, even when resources and recognition have faded away.

Key Scripture Reference: Hebrews 11:6, Psalm 19:1, John 15:1-11, Psalm 91:14-16, Proverbs 3:1-26, Matthew 23:12, Matthew 18:4, Isaiah 57:15, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Proverbs 29:23, Psalm 9:12, Psalm 34:2, Psalm 10:17, 2 Chronicles 34:27-28, Matthew 5:14-16, John 14:12, Exodus 10:3-19, 1 Corinthians 1:25, Mark 8:34, Numbers 15:37-41, Leviticus 20:7-8, 1 Peter 1:13-16, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:8-10

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