Humility isn’t thinking less of ourselves—it’s thinking of ourselves rightly in light of who God is.
As James 4:10 says:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (ESV)

We’re not called to grovel or shrink—we’re called to come confidently, as children of the King, with hearts shaped by grace.

Key Reflections:

• Humility isn’t self-deprecation—it’s seeing ourselves as God sees us.
• God is holy and personal—King on the throne, yet close like a Shepherd.
• Pride pushes God away, but humility invites His grace (James 4:6).
• We’re not just forgiven—we’re family: co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
• Humility draws us near—we approach God confidently, not fearfully (Hebrews 4:16).
• A balanced view of self honors God more than false modesty ever could.

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Join the Conversation:

How do you practice humility without falling into false modesty?
Has your view of God’s grace helped you stand tall in His presence?

Drop a comment on today’s episode or tag your thoughts on Instagram with #LifeAudioNetwork.
Let’s grow together in grace—lifting our heads as children of a holy and loving God.

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Full Transcript Below:

Humility Is the Way to God

By Sarah Frazer

Bible Reading:

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10 (ESV)

When I think about a humble person I sometimes imagine a great king on his throne. One of the king’s subjects comes into the room. He bows before the king and voices his request. Is this humility? According to the dictionary a person who is humble doesn’t think too highly of themselves. Humility is not weakness or self deprecation. Although some definitions have taken humility to mean that we lower ourselves, humility really means we have a honest view of ourselves and of God. 

One of the things I love about God is He is both all-powerful and holy. We have a God who sits on the throne of Heaven, orchestrating the entire universe. Colossians says He keeps everything going by the power of His hands. Nothing escapes God’s notice, control, and wisdom. God is perfect in all His ways and only those who are also holy are allowed to enter into His presence. 

Another aspect of God’s character that is evidence throughout the entire Bible is God’s closeness to us. Our God has also made himself known to us in a way we can understand and find Him. God is described as our Shepherd, Father, and Teacher. Having a relationship with us is a priority for our all-powerful God. God demonstrated through Jesus and He willingness to humble Himself for our sakes. 

As we we approach God we tend to fall on one side or the other. Either we think we need to only see ourselves as disgraced, unlovable beings before a holy, perfect God. We call ourselves “worms” or “enemies” of God, even after we become Christians. Sometimes we don’t speak up, or speak out because we have a false sense of humility. Thinking low of ourselves is not humility. 

We do this because we are afraid of the other side of the coin: pride. The Bible warns us over and over again about pride, which is thinking too highly of ourselves. It was pride that caused Satan to fall and sin to enter the world. In our attempts to avoid pride, as we should, we have a false sense of humility. 

A correct, Biblical view of humility, actually falls in the middle of both of these views. Although we recognize that we came to God from a state of utter helplessness and God is beyond our ability to reach on our own, God humbled Himself so that we now stand with Jesus as co-heirs and children of God. 

As Christians, we come to God through a humble heart. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” (ESV) And Proverbs 15:33 says, “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” (ESV) In the book of James we also see humility mentioned several times. James is said to be the proverbs of the New Testament. 

James 4:6-10 says: But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (ESV)

Notice that God invites us to draw near to Him, but we do so with pure hearts and this is found through grace. If we are to receive grace from God in order to be able to draw near to God, we must have a balanced view of ourselves. 

Yes, we are sinners in need of grace. But as Christians, we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and understand that we are now no longer enemies, but friends of God. Our standing before God changes the instant we accept Christ as our Savior. Because our standing before God changes we now can humbly come before God in the proper way. 

We do not exalt ourselves above God, but we do not degrade ourselves either. Humility means we let God lift us up and no matter what our standing is before the world, we are one of God’s children. 

God is the King on the throne and we are His. We enter this throne room with confidence, bowing before Him, but then lifting our head to look Him in the face because we are not just a subject, but a child. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (ESV)

How does knowing Jesus stands beside God, advocating for you, give you confidence to come to God with a humble, but also confident heart? 

Further Reading:

Micah 6:8

Philippians 2:3

Colossians 3:12

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