Ready to Humble

“In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:5-8 NIV

I remember as a child, going to a family member’s home to watch Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield. This was basically an whole get-together to watch two men fight. Everyone was happy, excited and eating. While we waited for the main event, people would roam throughout the house. Some gave their predictions of who would win and would talk trash like any other sport. But before the match began, everyone wanted to be in place for the entrances and introductions of each competitor but more importantly there was one phrase that the whole house was waiting to hear and that was “Let’s get ready to rumble!” That was the phrase that made it official.

Michael Buffer’s voice is arguably one of the most recognizable voices in sports history. The sound of his voice was like gasoline thrown on an already blazing fire that sent the place into a absolute roar. As kids we would run around mimicking this phrase as we prepared wrestle or box one another in the house or in the neighborhood. It later became the name of a boxing game for the Dreamcast console called Ready to Rumble. Nevertheless, this phrase prepared fighters and spectators all over the world and continues to be famous to this day.

Today, I want to introduce a similar, yet opposing phrase that speaks to the life of the believer. Instead of being “Ready to Rumble,” we must be “Ready to Humble.” As a follower of Jesus, the scriptures teach us that our greatness is not determined by our ability to fight nor our ability to control or destroy a person with our words. Instead, our strength and success comes from our decision to be humble.

The antonym or opposite of humility is pride. It’s important to know that pride isn’t always obvious. Often, pride is disguised as self-sufficiency­–this is when we do all we can do to accomplish things on our own. While this is highly celebrated in our current culture, it’s not the most effective approach. One can get somethings done alone, but the success will always be limited. Riding on the back of the high-level effort of an individual is not sustainable over time and will always result in burnout. I can testify to this.

One of the biggest lessons of life is to learn and acknowledge that we need help. This is the heart of humility. Recognizing our limitations and embracing the value of collaboration. Naturally, we can accomplish an exponential amount of work when we humbly embrace the culture of working with others. Have you ever worked on a group project in school or at work and everyone contributed respectfully? So much good happens when we work together collaboratively! The end result is much greater than the effort of one person. If this is true in a natural context, what about spiritually? Imagine what happens when we collaborate with the greatest collaborator, the Spirit of God. Before Jesus left this earth, He said, “I won’t leave you comfortless, I’m going to send you a comforter–I’m going to send you help. The one who will lead and guide you to all truth,” and that is the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18; John 16:3 – my paraphrase). The greatest collaborator we could ever work with is the Spirit of God? Why is that? Because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” I want you to know that humility is favored. We must walk in the humility that God desires so that we can flow in the favor that He’s prepared to give us.

I must confess that this is an area that I’ve struggled with most–in recognizing that I need help. I’m so used to doing things on my own, that I’ll do all that I can by myself before I say “Hey, I need a hand!” or “Hey, I could use some help!” The truth is it wears on me. I will run myself ragged before I ever make a call or send an email. But then my productivity either plateaus or comes to a screeching halt–not because of a lack in my skill, but the abundance of my pride. I believe one of the key reasons why we’re so limited in our success is because God opposes the proud. Think about that–when we walk in pride, we become God’s opposition. When we walk in pride–when we refuse to ask for help, we become God’s opponent in life. He opposes the proud, meaning there will always be an invisible friction when we try to do things alone. In the story of creation, God expressed “it’s not good for man to be alone.” He was not ultimately speaking of Adam’s need for a wife. Yes, companionship is a part of it but ultimately, God created us to walk in community. But in order to walk in community, we have to walk in humility.

For so many of us, humility scares us. Often, when we recognize that we need help, our minds inaccurately process this humble opportunity as a road to humiliation. This is typically the result of being scolded by a parent or dismissed teacher when asking for help. Or perhaps you may have revealed your ignorance to your peers because you felt safe with them, but that trust was immediately shattered by the shame of belittling laughter. Because of this, we’ve become terrified to ask for help because our minds have labeled this as a sign of weakness that leads to embarrassment. What God defines as honorable humility, our mind discerns as harmful humiliation. This incorrect discernment causes our minds to trigger its defenses, leading us to see this humiliation as a threat and humility as an enemy. Thus, we’d rather walk alone in pride than the community forged by humility. We’d rather see the limited success of individualism than the maximized potential of a group effort.

What if I told you that in humility, there will always humiliation? It may not be a popular fact, but it’s certainly the truth. However, this is not a humiliation that intends harm but one that leads us to progress. When we humble ourselves, we humiliate our pride–we humiliate our flesh. Through humility, we expose the lie that says we can do it on our own, the one that says that we don’t need God or anyone else. Think about it, such a statement deserves nothing less than humiliation because, while we are masterfully made, we cannot experience our max potential outside of the power of community. We’ve spent so much time trying to avoid humiliation over the years, but now it’s time to recognize that when we allow ourselves to be humiliated in the fact that “I’m not enough by myself, I cannot do this alone!” or “Father, I need your help! Not just in the areas I’m comfortable with, but in every area!” In humility we can say, “Sister, I need you to pray with me! Brother, I need you to hold me up!” This is the power of community that’s cultivated through humility. Hezekiah Walker wrote a beautiful song called “I Need You to Survive” that speaks of this powerful community in the body of Christ. Community is essential to survival both naturally and spiritually, but when we completely humble ourselves to our need of God and of each other, won’t just survive but we will thryve! Because saying I need help is not a platform to display my shame, but it’s the key to God’s favor.

For some you’ve done great work on your own so far and, for others, maybe not so much. No matter where you stand, imagine what you could accomplish if you allow humility to displace every trace of pride out of your life, making room for God's favor. How would a humble heart alter your relationships? How would a team effort grow your business or transform your ministry? How much more could you accomplish if you embraced the truth that you need help? Turn away from fruitlessness of pride and walk in the favor found in humility. Heaven’s favor flows through heart of humility–through the life that’s ready to humble

Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn more here!