Anah

After changing my blog for Easter, I took off the verse that I used to have at the bottom of the screen. Many of you may never have noticed the verse. Perhaps I ought to edit my blog so that T.S Eliot's quote will be placed at the bottom and this verse at the top. I just might do that when I have time later...
Anyway, the verse is a big time favorite of mine:
"You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great." Psalm 18:35
This morning I started an online Bill Gothard Bible Study on the Commands of Christ with a group of ladies. This morning's lesson was on repentence, but something in the additional reading caught my attention. It said:
"Several Hebrew words are translated humble. One is anah, which means 'to stoop, be downcast, bow down; to be afflicted; to weaken oneself; to mishandle'.” When God stoops down to make us great, he humbles himself in the manner of this Hebrew word "anah." What greater example of humility do we have than that of Christ, who as Paul says in Phillipians, "who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but instead made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant, being made in human likeness; and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"
God stooped down all the way to earth. And he didn't settle for being a king in all of his glory - he stooped down to the level of servant, he weakened himself, he gave himself up to be afflicted. And for what purpose? Well, certainly for His own glory. But also so that we could be made heirs with Christ our brother!
Yesterday morning I sang and played violin in an Easter sunrise service. The song we sang reawakened me to the love of God. If you haven't heard "Who am I" by Casting Crowns, I suggest you check it out, thinking about the God who humbled Himself, not even stopping short of death, who stooped down to make us (YOU) great.