S) "32 It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath."
Leviticus 23:32 (NASB)
O) I was reading this today, initially in ESV, and I was a little taken aback by this verse. Instead of "humble your souls," the ESV translates to, "afflict yourselves." That seemed to be a fairly unique command. I didn't do any deep research, but I certainly don't recall anything like this. Paying attention to context, God does not intend this "affliction" to be a burden, but quite the opposite. This is meant to force this people to slow their lives and rest.
A) Choosing to humble myself has certainly felt like an affliction at times. Before really choosing God's ways for my life, I was frighteningly prideful. To be clear, this was an arrogant pride, an angry declaration of self-defined elitism. It was also exhausting. It takes effort to uphold delusion, I guess. Equally draining, is the ceaseless comparative evaluations. I was constantly on edge, trying to stack myself up to others, physically, intellectually, comedically, etc. This verse reveals that, while choosing to humble myself might feel painful, it's actually a key to resting.
P) Father, I never want to be in that terrible place if pride again. When pride creeps in, reveal the sin of my heart to me, God. Let the Holy Spirit bring me back down, even if it feels like an affliction. Before it ever gets to that place, I want to humble my soul, and choose to restrict my mind, my heart, from chasing prideful heights. When I'm feeling exhausted, show me where I need to afflict myself with humility. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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