Sit Down. Be Humble. || James 4:10 || Manna for the Mind #9

Welcome to Day 9 of my “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series takes a passage of scripture (typically 1-3 verses) and builds its understanding through its context and connecting scripture. Doing this helps us understand what the Bible truly teaches us. 

James 4:10

10        Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Your worth can only come from God and God alone. The things of the world only affect the world itself, while God lasts for eternity. To become humble before God involves leaning on his power and guidance and not going our own way. It reminds me of what Proverbs 3:5-6.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5          Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge.

6          With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.

What does humble mean? That’s what I want to explore next. Humble is the Greek word tapeinoó (tap-i-no’-o), meaning to make low to or humble. It’s achieved when a believer entirely depends on God and is not self-governed. Doing this allows God to be exalted in our lives and experience his fullness within us. It’s related to the Greek word tapeinos (tap-i-nos’), which means low-lying, lowly, lowly in spirit. It describes the inner lowliness of a period that depends on God rather than the self.

Suppose we keep the concept of trying to do everything ourselves low and allow God to take over our lives fully through our thoughts and actions. In that case, we find this level of humbleness. We need to give God credit as well. That’s how we can exalt God. Thanking God for getting through the challenging moments, which feel weird. You did the physical work of getting through it; therefore, you’d want praise and recognition. God gets that praise and recognition, though, and here’s why. You did the physical work, but how did you get the energy, knowledge, wisdom, and ambition? “Well, I got a good night’s sleep.” God gave you a restful night. “Well, I’ve been working for this for years.” God gave you the dedication and motivation to stick with it. That’s what it’s about. Not giving yourself the overall credit. I mean, applaud yourself for doing the work and sticking to God’s plan, but God gets the credit overall.

1 Peter 5:6

6          So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

Peter reminds us that God’s recognition counts more than human praise. It’s tough not to want, seek, or crave validation from other humans. I’ve been wrestling with this for years because I always sought validation from others. I never felt/feel confident in my decisions or the direction I wanted to go. Why? I don’t know if I’m honest. Those conversations need to happen with qualified professionals and not you all. My confidence has gotten better over the last year. Why? Because I had to make tough decisions. The more decisions I had to make, the easier it got. I couldn’t rely on others to validate my thoughts. It needed to come from me and me alone. As I had to make each decision over the past year, I felt comfortable and at peace with the decisions, which led to more confidence for anything in my path. God’s been training me on this process, and I give all credit to Him.

God’s able to bless us according to his timing. When 2023 began, I promised to move on from my youth and children’s director job and into the finance world. It should be a smooth transition with little wait time. Yet, it came six months later than expected. I could be frustrated and disappointed, but I’m okay with it. It taught me the necessities I need in life. It taught me how to manage my finances more aggressively. It taught me how to ask for help when needed. It taught me what I wanted to do in life. It taught me how to be confident in my abilities and gain confidence in what I want to do. I couldn’t have learned it the way I did if it hadn’t been for what I went through. Would I want to go through it again? Absolutely not, but I humbled myself, and God blessed it when he knew I was ready. Amen.

Father, we thank you for the blessings you gift to us each and every day. Help us to recognize the ways we need to be more humble and allow us to exalt you in the best way possible. It’s in your name; we pray. Amen.