There are three categories of 'believers' in the world:

(1) Those who have confidence in themselves. Such believers can be identified by the fact that they pray very little or not at all. And they usually never ever fast and pray. Although they don't say so in as many words, by their prayerlessness they testify that they can handle every situation. Such believers can never do an eternal work for God.

(2) Those who have no confidence in themselves and who have no confidence in God. They confess that they have no strength or wisdom. But they do not believe that God will work on their behalf. Such believers are usually prayerless too. Even if they do pray, their prayers are invariably without faith. Such can never do an eternal work for God either.

(3) Those who have no confidence in themselves, BUT who have total confidence in God. They are aware of their lack of strength and wisdom, but they also believe that God will help them mightily, and do a work in them and through them. Such believers alone are truly spiritual, and only such can do an eternal work for God. It is good for us to recognise that those in Category 2 above are just as useless to God as those in Category 1. Those in Category 2 may look more broken, but they are not - for unbelief can never be found alongside genuine Christ-like humility. Without faith it is impossible to please God, no matter how broken we may appear to be. Merely acknowledging our inability will not solve our problems. We must trust God too.

To confess that we are rotten, good for nothing, useless and foolish, is not humility, but unbelief!! If we keep on confessing that, we will remain useless forever. False humility like that is often mistaken for the genuine thing by undiscerning believers!

But Jesus told us to learn humility from Him (Matt.11:29). And where do we find Jesus ever confessing that He was useless and good for nothing? Never.

True humility is taking the place of entire nothingness before God, so that God might be all in all. This is the place that Jesus took as a man. This is what we must do too. In that lowly place, we can trust God to do a mighty work in us and through us, and to crush Satan under our feet.