The Sphere of humiliation

"...but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." Mark 9:22

Today we talk about the valley of humiliation after being on the mount. How fitting after a week like mine. I have been doing my practicum at a primary school nearby under the supervision of a school librarian who has been doing her job for about 20 years. Last week I was on the high. My lessons went really well, I was smart and savvy and knew I could be a great school librarian some day. Then this week started. Blunder after blunder after blunder! By Wednesday I started wondering if I had made a mistake in trying to do this job. I even had a nightmare that practicum was a disaster and that my supervisor had called UB because of some serious issues with me. Luckily I woke up and was able to regroup when I realized that things weren't all that bad.

I'm thinking that this is the way the disciples felt after that mountaintop experience. They came down...and faced a big blunder when they couldn't cast an evil spirit out of a boy who was brought to them by a desperate father. I'm sure the disciples were thinking, "Am I cut out for this job? Has Jesus made some sort of mistake in choosing me." Nope. He chose them and I'm quite sure that he was well aware of the big challenge facing them when they came down from the mountain. In fact, I think it was all part of the plan.

Some quotes to think about from Chambers:
We see his glory on the mount, but we never live for his glory there. It is in the sphere of humiliation that we find our true worth to God, that is where our faithfulness is revealed.

"If thou canst do anything..." It takes the valley of humiliation to root the skepticism out of us.

When you were on the mount, you could believe, but what about the time you were up against facts in the valley?

Image Source: Picture of Death Valley by Ken Lund, Creative Commons flickr