“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
My baby buried herself in my arms, crying and crying as the cool coastal wind rushed against us. Exhausted after hours in the sun, she twisted and turned in vain, desperate for sleep. I was pacing in the sand, rocking her to no avail.
I didn’t have her pacifier, to soothe her. I didn’t have a jacket for her, for warmth. In that moment I felt like the worst mother ever.
There’s a long story behind this circumstance, but the situation culminated in this moment, when I was so close to crying along with her, to crashing in shame, to wallowing in self-pity.
My mind moaned, how did I let this happen? What should I do?
I realized in that weak place that I had two choices: pride or humility.
I could be crushed by the shame and regret, too discontent with God to do anything. Stubborn.
Or I could acknowledge the difficulty, and humbly seek the power of Christ. He could help me. He could and would give wisdom, if I asked. (James 1:5)
Lord, please help me. Please give Your servant relief! Forgive me for worrying and not turning to You sooner!
Opening my eyes, I saw a friend nearby, and swallowing my pride sought help. She graciously offered the shelter of her car, and my little girl calmed down.
The solution was simple, right? Yet, with embarrassment or failure, we can become irrational in our hurt pride.
Humility before God was the answer.
Defining True Humility
“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2
Do you call out to God, acknowledging your need for Him? Are you ready to admit your mistakes, in order to see His glory in your restoration?
We are messy, broken people, and yet all too often our hearts try to claim otherwise – to our own demise.
Even in the pristine garden of Eden, Eve’s pride convinced her that she could be her own God, leading to sin crashing into the world (Genesis 3). Pride agrees with Satan’s lies!
Humility, however, is deeply pleasing to the Lord. It comes when one rests in God, revering Him and His truth above oneself.
As a Christian, humility should not be momentary, but a state of mind. Share on XThe Greek word used for humble in the New Testament is tapeinoo – which means “to bring low.” As believers in the Gospel, our sinful selves have been brought low, humbled by His grace. Unlike what the world thinks, that’s amazing.
When we are low, we are in the best possible place to lovingly serve Him. To enjoy His glory.
Here’s an example. John the Baptist, the man who prepared Israel for Christ’s arrival, once said: “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 (ESV)
John knew full well that his life was not for his own glory, but about exalting the Lord.
You see, being humble isn’t merely thinking less of yourself.
Humility actively recognizes God for who He is—the Creator, the Almighty, the Savior, the Eternal King. It’s knowing He’s the Holy One holding you in His hands.
Remember: He’s given you all you have.
His plan and judgment ultimately stand.
He has offered you, a sinner, undeserved mercy in Christ.
Day by day we should bow before God in our hearts with thankfulness, confessing our sin and helplessness, putting no confidence in ourselves. (Philippians 3:3)
Humility is not simply thinking less of yourself; it's thinking more and more of God. Share on XHumility is constantly acknowledging God’s infinite greatness. It’s living and breathing that very truth, holding onto it for sustenance, instead of struggling for self-reliance.
It’s honoring His Will way above our own, knowing we are nothing apart from Christ.
The Meek Welcome God
The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:6
Humility is at the core of believing in the Gospel. In order to take joy in Jesus, to fully understand what He accomplished at the cross and resurrection, you must first acknowledge your deep need for God’s forgiveness.
The Lord takes humility seriously, because without humbling ourselves we cannot genuinely worship. We cannot genuinely have faith in the Son’s work, and live it out before others. This is what God desires for us!
To close, cultivating humility pushes us closer to the Lord. By cherishing His supreme role, we appreciate more about His grace and depend deeper on His promises.
Once we come before Him, with Him on the throne instead of ourselves, we are able to grow in humility with others. Read how humility can abundantly bless your marriage.
Sign up below to access a printable with 10 Daily Prayers for Humility!
Love this: I could be crushed by the shame and regret. I know I am faced with that choice so very often and more than I’d like to admit, I give into that shame and regret. I LOVE this post and find so much encouragement in the truths on humility here 🙂
Nicole, I know! The enemy often tries to use shame against us, but it can be a beautiful opportunity to humbly turn to God. Thankful to be of encouragement!
Just meeting you now, Dani, and so glad to be!! I love this, thank you for all the helpful visuals and such concise, straightforward insight about humility. This is fantastic. Saving it and sharing it! Thanks!!
Nice to meet you, Bethany! I appreciate your kind words and am blessed to hear the post was helpful! Thank you for sharing! May God grow you in your walk with Him!
This is so wonderful Dani! Your words were a blessing to me. Oh, why do we struggle with this sometimes? It could be so simple couldn’t it…more of Him, less of me. Blessings!
Thanks, Jaime! And I know, as Jesus once said to the disciples – the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. May God strength us in this area for His glory!
Wow! This post is so timely and relevant, Dani. There is a daily surrendering to God that is required to overcome pride with humility. Thanks for the encouragement! I’m grateful for your 10 daily prayers of humility. Hugs!
Yes, surrender is so key! Glad the prayers were helpful, we are in such need of Him! God Bless Jeanine!
Loved this: “In order to take joy in Jesus, to fully understand what He accomplished at the cross and resurrection, you must first acknowledge your need for God’s forgiveness.
The Lord takes humility seriously, because without humility we cannot genuinely worship. We cannot genuinely have faith in the Son’s work, and live it out before others.”
And I loved the option to list and hover verses at the end, to round out your post… such a great resource!
Humility and worship are so closely connected! And thank you Liz, glad the verses were helpful!
What a great reminder, Dani! Shame takes hold of my heart so easily, and the pride comes in as I don’t want to draw closer to God with all the shame. But the solution should always be to go to God in humility — because He knows my heart, my failures and weaknesses anyways and still loves me. I love the verses you listed, too! Blessings to you!
Amen! Praise God that He knows us and is so merciful when we come to Him humbly. He wipes away our shame at the cross and gives forgiveness. Thank you for visiting!
Thank you Dani. You’ve reminded me about being humble. Something, I regret to admit, I do struggle with. But I need these constant reminders of how infinitely merciful the Father is and how I need to focus more on Him and less on me
You’re welcome, Cecelia. We all need the reminder to be humble, day in and day out! Praise God that His mercy and patience are so relentless, even when we fail. Keep your eyes set on Him!
Absolutely love this:
“Remember: He’s given you all you have.”
That’s 100% it. Nothing we have is ours. I can’t think of a more humbling fact. Sometimes, we become so prideful and think it’s all about us. Or that we “earned” something, “deserve” something, or are “worth” more than something. It’s simply not true. God gave us everything we have, and we should be living our lives for Him knowing that fact.
Beautiful piece. It was a wonderful reminder for me today.
You highlighted such a key point – that it is God who gives and takes away! When we realize all comes from the Lord we cannot help but fear Him and thank Him. Pride is only possible when we lose sight of His sovereignty and love. I appreciate your kind words, Eryn!
Thank you so much for posting this beautiful truth and for being a light. It’s so refreshing to see positive, godly, loving messages on the internet. And it is such a good reminder…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Printing the humility prayers and sharing on fb. I was looking for the HUMILITY spelled out picture, but couldn’t find it. I’d love to print and share it as well. Once again, thank you and praying blessings over your family, your blog, and your future ♡
Thank you for your sweet message! That is my hope and prayer – that this blog would serve as a refreshing encouragement to God’s people. And yes, He is so ready to offer grace to the humble in heart. Thank you for sharing this post! Good idea about making the HUMILITY acrostic a printable – I will have to add that to the library 🙂
Looking to study on humility this month,and this is just the start i needed for it.Thank you.