Humble yourself in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you. (James 4:10)

It’s a simple verse, yet it hit me hard. Not because I was being obviously proud or haughty, but sometimes God points out the need for slight attitude adjustments. I was carrying some anxiety I didn’t need to carry. And I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Oh, I was functioning just fine, including digging into my Bible study. I could have easily gone through the motions that morning, but (thankfully) I was engaged, because I sensed I needed something. I did. Honestly, is there ever a time I don’t need something? I want to be a lifelong learner. I want to grow. Learning and growing won’t just happen. I have to seek and be willing to hear and respond. Learning is active and applicable, and God reminded me…

Humility is essential.

I won’t learn much – if anything – if I assume a self-righteous position. What good is it to learn from myself? I already know what I know. What I don’t know is what I don’t know and what I want to learn, which means I have to seek out those who know.

A strange phenomenon occurs among peers in their preteen and teen years. They often primarily rely on each other to learn the ways of the world. They ask each other about dating, studying, friendships, sports, colleges and life in general. They excitedly teach each other. Yet how much more experienced is one than the other? Oh, perhaps slightly more experienced…but enough to be the primary method of teaching and learning?

Let’s be honest. It’s not just preteens and teens. We adults often do the same thing; we’re just a bit more sly about it. The people we go to might not be the same age as us, but there are other similarities. We look for people who will affirm us instead of those who will challenge our way of thinking and living and stretch us in ways that are somewhat uncomfortable. We seek what sounds good instead of was is true. As long as we can control the situation and flow of information at the pace and content that agrees with us, we’ll continue the relationship, but if accountability to standards we don’t believe in begins to creep in, we get out.

Yes, we need to be discerning and get out when relationships are destructive or even detrimental, but that’s not what I’m referring to. When I mention accountability and declare it as essential to healthy, growing individuals and relationships, I’m talking about accountability to God’s standards. If we’re seeking to be taught by someone who knows more than us, there’s really only one source to go to: God. He’s going to cross our paths with others who can teach us through seasons, too, but we have to recognize people are fallible. The people I’ve learned the most from have opened their hearts with wisdom while also being sure I know they’re human. They’ll do their best to point me in God’s direction, but they want me to seek him directly as well.

To be humble acknowledges my position in relationship with God. Only he holds the best perspective. Humility in any other context is likely skewed. We distort truth in our own efforts because we don’t know it all. We’ll define ourselves as less or more than what we actually are.

I was doing both that day. My pity party made it look as if I was thinking less of myself. But who was I to decide what should be pitied? As I placed it on God’s scales, I immediately recognized my error. My math was completely off. I placed it on the scales, expecting them to take a sudden dip, but the scales registered no weight. As I handed it to God to weigh, he took away the weight. He did the same with the anxiety. And then he replaced both with James 4:10. Humble yourself in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you.

God’s Word is full of such promises. He often says, “If only you’ll ________________, I’ll _________________.” Why, oh, why, must we continue to think we can do it all on our own? Why do we cast our anxieties upon him and quickly reel them back in?

What are you holding onto today?

Loosen your grip. As it falls from your hands into God’s, he is ready to blow it into oblivion with one quick breath.