Lord, I Know I Must Humble Myself

Reflection

It is amazing to watch children, especially when they are young and taking in all the new things around them. Everything is new to them. They are learning what things are, how things work, who people are, and where they fit into the world around them. Their understanding is limited, and they don't yet have all the knowledge and experiences that adults have accumulated over the years.

There is something else I notice about young children. In many ways, they are innocent to the ways of the world. They are not walking around thinking about how to establish themselves, build a reputation, or make sure everyone knows how important they are. At a certain age, a child is not concerned with being prideful in the way an adult can be. They simply live within the place they have been given.

A child understands that they need someone to take care of them. They look to their parents for food, clothing, shelter, comfort, protection, and so much more. They also depend upon their parents for things they cannot provide for themselves, such as teaching, instruction, boundaries, and discipline. They may not always like the correction, but there is an understanding that parents are supposed to correct them.

That dependence is part of what makes Jesus' words so striking. He tells us that we must become as little children and humble ourselves. He isn't telling us to become childish or to stop growing in understanding. He is pointing us toward something we can easily lose as we grow older: the humility of knowing that we are not sufficient in ourselves.

Humility is not always feeling humble—sometimes it is choosing to submit anyway.

As adults, we learn how to do things for ourselves. We make our own decisions, earn our own money, take care of our responsibilities, and become accustomed to figuring things out. Those things are not wrong. The problem comes when the independence we need for daily life begins to affect the way we relate to God. We can become so accustomed to handling things ourselves that we forget how completely dependent we are upon Him.

A child doesn't have to convince himself that he needs his parent. He simply knows it. He expects his parent to provide what he cannot provide for himself, and he looks to that parent for direction. There is a humility in that which I think Jesus wants us to understand.

I was reminded of this recently when someone said something kind of mean to me. My first reaction was to get upset, and almost immediately I thought, "Lord, I want to say something. I want to respond." I wasn't looking for some deeply spiritual response at that moment. I wanted to respond because my feelings had been hurt.

I laugh about it now because, in that moment, I felt a little like Jonah. I could almost hear myself thinking, "Lord, but I don't want to do the right thing." There was a little internal pout going on. I knew what I should do, but I didn't particularly want to do it. Finally, it was almost like saying, "Sigh. Okay. I know I must."

That moment made me think about humility in a different way. Sometimes submitting ourselves to God doesn't feel noble or impressive. Sometimes it looks like being upset and wanting to say something, while knowing that God is asking us to respond differently. Humility is not always feeling humble. Sometimes humility is choosing to submit even when our feelings are telling us we deserve to respond.

Trusting the Father's Direction

That is where I think the childlike example becomes so important. A child may not understand everything his parent is doing, and he may not always like the correction he receives, but he is still dependent upon that parent. In the same way, there will be times when I don't understand why God is asking something of me, and there will certainly be times when I don't want to do it. But I can still trust Him enough to submit.

Humility means recognizing our place before God. He is the Father, and I am not. He knows what I don't know. He sees what I cannot see. He understands the consequences of my choices when I may only be thinking about what I feel in the moment. When He corrects me, I may not always like it, but I can trust that His correction is not meant to harm me.

There is a difference between knowing that God is in control and actually submitting ourselves to His authority. We can say that we trust Him, but humility is often revealed when His way conflicts with what we want to do. It is easy to say, "Lord, I trust You," when His answer agrees with us. It is another thing entirely to say, "Lord, I don't want to do this, but I know Your way is right."

Learning to Simply Receive

That is the kind of humility Jesus was teaching. He wasn't telling His disciples to become helpless or ignorant. He was teaching them to lay down the pride that makes us want to be important, independent, right, and in control. He was calling them to recognize that the kingdom of heaven does not operate according to the world's ideas of greatness.

And perhaps that is one reason children can teach us so much. They remind us what it looks like to simply receive. They receive care because they know they need it. They receive instruction because there is much they do not know. They receive correction because someone who loves them is responsible for teaching them what is right.

As we grow older, we can become very good at taking care of ourselves, but we should never become so grown up that we stop looking to our heavenly Father. We still need His provision. We still need His instruction. We still need His correction. We still need His protection. Most of all, we need His grace.

Don't let independence crowd out your dependency—
We will always need our Heavenly Father.

Before You Go

I think sometimes we make humility sound much easier than it really is. We talk about being humble as though it simply means being quiet, letting someone else go first, or not drawing attention to ourselves. Those things can certainly involve humility, but Jesus takes us much deeper than outward behavior.

Humility begins with recognizing who God is and who we are before Him. We are not His equals. We are not self-sufficient. We do not see everything He sees or understand everything He understands. Yet because He is our Father, we can trust Him even when we don't understand what He is doing.

That means humility may show up in some very ordinary moments. It may be choosing not to answer when someone has hurt your feelings. It may be admitting that you were wrong. It may mean accepting correction instead of becoming defensive. It may mean giving up something you want because you know God's way is better.

And sometimes, like me, you may have a little Jonah moment first.

"Lord, I want to say something."
"I know I shouldn't."
"But I really want to."
"Sigh. Okay. I know I must do the right thing."

Thankfully, God is patient with us even in those moments. He knows the struggle between what we want to do and what we know is right. He isn't asking us to pretend that our feelings don't exist. He is teaching us not to let those feelings become our master.

Choosing to Submit

The child Jesus placed before His disciples knew he needed someone bigger, wiser, and stronger than himself. That is where we need to be too. We can grow in knowledge, become responsible adults, and learn to handle the many things life places before us, but none of that changes our need for our Father.

So today, when something happens and your first reaction is to defend yourself, respond, or insist on having your way, pause before you act. You may not feel humble in that moment. You may even be tempted to pout a little. But you can still choose to submit.

Sometimes the most humble thing we can say is simply, "Lord, I don't want to, but I know Your way is right." And when we do, we are learning what Jesus meant when He told us to become as little children.