Humility - the foundation of spiritual strength

“And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?” (Alma 32:14)

Since humility is the only foundation of spiritual strength, we are blessed when we successfully humble ourselves and prepare to receive the blessings of faith from our Heavenly Father.

I have lived through times when my pride or fear have interfered with my ability to embrace some aspects of the gospel. Conversely, I have experienced significant growth when I have been able to humble myself and submit to the will of our Heavenly Father. Although I have struggled too often, I do recognize the Lord’s guidance and blessings in my life when I successfully bend my will to His.

This morning, we experienced a weather event that first gave us freezing rain. The rain was then followed by snow. The combination of which proved incredibly slippery both on sidewalks and roads. As I drove to my office, I found myself driving down a slight decline toward an intersection. The slick environment overwhelmed the skills of many who would drive through. I watched as many cars slid into each other, some were spinning on the ice. I worked as best I could to drive slowly around the situation. Each time I touched my brakes or downshifted my tires would lose traction. It was difficult to maintain control. Just as I thought I was sure to get through the mess without personal incident, a small car sped up behind me. I panicked a little and touched my brakes trying to maneuver out of the way. Sliding, I was certain I would drift into the path of the speeding car. I am certain I was blessed as he slid past me without making contact with me nor did he bounce off the curb back at me. It seemed he was a hair’s width from making contact.

As this played out before me, a thought impressed itself on my consciousness - I was being blessed for paying my tithes and other offerings. How often do we really know why or when our blessings are bestowed on us? If I had not humbled myself and submitted to the Lord’s will, I would have been involved in an accident that would have surely caused major financial hardship and possibly bodily injury.