Humble Yourself

James 4:¹⁰ “Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground, in humility before the Lord; and He will lift your head so you can stand tall.” [Voice].

Being humble is non-negotiable for a child of God. God does not overlook it. If you are going to have and sustain a walk with God, then you need to know that God does not overlook matters of humility. If you miss the Word, you will not miss the rod. So, make up your mind to let humility flow. Paul says to us in 2 Cor.12:⁷ “even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God, So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.” Why was Paul given a thorn in his flesh? It was to keep him from becoming proud. It is not an option; we have to be humble.

Being humble is not for some kind of people, it is for every child of God, every Christian really. Yet, God’s says, “humble yourself”. Humble yourself because God resists the proud. James 4:⁶ “But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NRSV, emphasis added). God will not oppose you, in the Name of Jesus. In fact, the Word of God says, “if God be for us who can be against us” (Rom.8:31). You need God on your side, in fact, God is on your side. You do not want Him to change His mind because of your arrogance. You are arrogant to your spouse and to everybody. God says, ‘calm down!’ My grandmother would say, ‘dilute your palm wine, Femi, dilute your palm wine before you get intoxicated.’ (a figure of speech in Yoruba dialect). So, I am saying to you today dilute your palm wine because God resists the proud. I do not know about you, but I do not want God to resist me.

Humble yourself because God gives grace to the humble. God does not just resist the proud, He helps the humble by giving grace to the humble. James 4:⁶ “But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NRSV, emphasis added). If only God can help you, the struggle becomes nothing. If only you have grace – the grace of God. I am sure you know that without the grace of God you cannot really achieve much. If God gives a man grace in an area, the grace usually will be the distinguishing factor. If God gives you grace in your business, your business will stand in a class of its own. If God gives you grace in your career, it stands in a class of its own. We all need God’s grace and God gives grace to the humble.

Someone says, ‘the cheapest way of accessing God’s grace is by humility’. Humble yourself! The reason why a lot of people struggle in their own strength, they struggle to pray and to do the things of God is because they are full of themselves. God is speaking but you cannot hear Him, things seem to be jumping over you and it is because there is no grace. God gives grace to the humble, so be humble. I humble myself because God resists the proud. I humble myself because God gives grace to the humble.

Prayer: My Father, I come, and I humble myself before You. I ask that daily, Lord, You will help me choose the path of humility even as You lift me up, in Jesus Name. Amen!