“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” 1 Peter 5:6.

Humility means “the state of being humble.” Both it and humble have their origin in the Latin word humilis, meaning “low.” It is the ability to display a selfless attitude, down to earthiness, void of pride and arrogance. “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2.

Our first response to humility is to recognize Almighty God as our Creator. 1 Peter 5:6 state “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” He is to be exalted above all, we must honor, worship and reverence Him for who He is, in and through all things.

The desire to acquire knowledge and things in this world is not a bad aspiration, it is the way we utilize these things that matters. Our skills, gifts and assets are all given to us by God, they should be use for His glory and not to satisfy the desire for power, prestige, or an obsession for financial gain. 1 John 2:16 tells us “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

When we become self-serving and praise seekers; we feel that our accomplishments are received from our own merits. Unfortunately, that’s when pride has stepped in, and the ego takes over. The bible teaches us in Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

A humble and submissive heart before God is someone who has peace and comfort of mind; thankful for the ability to walk in Christ and live according to His divine plans; choosing to walk in the Spirit of God, who leads and guides us in righteousness…resulting in reverence to God above all things; and assurance that God alone supplies all that we need and desire, respective to His divine will.

“At every stage of our Christian development and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend.” ~ John Stott. We must constantly check ourselves; Satan is subtle and seeking to nourish our egos and separate us from God at all costs. It is imperative that we pray without ceasing, on guard, watching for the sly attempts of our enemy to bring us down through the vein deceits of this world; his plan is only to make us appear unworthy before God.

But my friends, that is impossible! We can be confident in God’s unconditional love for us, Satan and none of his demonic forces can ever take us away from the love of God. Are you persuaded of His love today? “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

So, let us humble ourselves by reverencing God, treating our fellowman with respect and self-worth. As the hymnist wrote, “Let’s forget about ourselves, Concentrate on Him and worship Christ, the Lord.”

Blessing. Peace, and God’s amazing grace be yours today!