Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul

by Hannah Anderson

Part of submitting to God also means recognizing that even our desires originate from Him. As much as you cannot make yourself or orchestrate the events of your life or shape your unique personality, you can no more create the desires of your heart. Like the lump of clay on the potter’s wheel, we cannot ask, “Why have you made me like this?”5 We must simply accept how we have been made. It is entirely possible, of course, that even our God-given desires are out of alignment. It is entirely possible that Nathan’s desire to be a country pastor could have been corrupted. He could have been motivated by the need to be a big fish in a small pond. He could have been motivated by fear of another, less familiar context. He could have been motivated by a need to be needed. Or. Or God could be at work in his life. And if God was at work in his life, then his desire to be a country pastor could also have been the natural result of his gifting, temperament, and background. It could be the result of having grown up in a small, country church, and knowing almost instinctively its rhythms and rituals. It could be the result of our unique combination of gifting. It could be the result of a man who loves to garden and just wanted to go home to Virginia. It could be the result of everything God had already been doing in his life for the last thirty years. Ultimately, when you acknowledge your desires and risk owning them, you are agreeing with God about who He has made you to be. You are re...