What Does It Mean To Walk Humbly With God?
Walking humbly with God is a concept that originates from Micah 6:8 in the Bible: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This verse provides powerful guidance on how God wants us to live.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Walking humbly with God means living in close relationship with Him, recognizing His greatness and our own human limitations, seeking to follow His will rather than our own pride or desires, and serving others through acts of justice, mercy and love.
In this in-depth article, we’ll explore the meaning of walking humbly with God more fully, looking at what the Bible teaches about humility, characteristics of a humble walk with God, and how to grow in humility in our relationship with Him.
The Importance of Humility Before God
Acknowledging God’s Greatness and Our Limitations
Humility before God begins with recognizing His supremacy and our own limitations. As our Creator, God possesses infinite wisdom, power, and authority. In contrast, we are finite beings with limited perspectives.
Developing humility requires honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s awesome majesty.
King David displayed this posture of humility when he wrote, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4).
David marveled at the night sky God created and rightly concluded that compared to the Lord, humans are small and not that significant.
Additionally, acknowledging God’s great deeds throughout history cultivates humility. Recalling how He delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt or Daniel from the lions’ den reminds us of our dependence on His intervention.
Pride fades away when we reflect on how often divine grace has sustained us.
Humility As the Proper Posture Before our Creator
The appropriate stance before God Almighty is humility. He is an awesome God, worthy of our highest praise and most sincere worship (Psalm 96:4-6). A prideful attitude that fails to acknowledge our creaturely status is unacceptable.
Biblical commentator Got Questions notes, “Pride in the heart leaves no room for God. It squeezes humble obedience and heartfelt worship right out of our lives.” Humility expands our capacity to receive God’s presence and submit to His good purposes.
Scripture urges approaching God with childlike trust and dependency (Luke 18:17). Just as young children rely on their parents for provision and guidance, we must rely on our Heavenly Father to sustain, protect, and counsel us.
Examples of Humility in Biblical Figures like Moses and Jesus
The Bible showcases humility through the examples of godly men and women. When God called Moses to lead Israel from Egypt, Moses felt unqualified and inadequate for the task. However, he listened to the Lord’s directives with meekness (Exodus 3:11).
Later, Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as, “very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.”
The ultimate model of humility is Jesus Himself. Though divine, Jesus willingly limited Himself when He took on human flesh and walked this earth (Philippians 2:6-8). He submitted to the Father to the point of an excruciating death on the cross for our salvation.
Paul urges believers, “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). This means laying aside selfish pride and embracing sacrificial service for God’s glory.
What Does it Look Like to Walk Humbly with God?
Having a Teachable Spirit
Walking humbly with God starts with having a teachable spirit. This means being open to instruction and correction from God’s Word and godly people. It involves laying aside pride and self-sufficiency, acknowledging our dependence on God’s wisdom rather than our own (Proverbs 3:5-7).
As Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Approaching life with humility allows us to learn and grow in amazing ways.
Obeying God Wholeheartedly
An essential aspect of walking in humility with God is obeying Him wholeheartedly. This means not cherry-picking which commands to follow, but seeking to align our lives fully with His standards and principles.
As 1 Samuel 15:22 declares, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.” Wholehearted obedience demonstrates humble submission to God’s authority and willingness to exalt His kingdom above our own agendas.
Serving Others with Compassion
Humility shines through when we serve others with compassion. Jesus modeled this beautifully by washing His disciples’ feet, a shocking act of servanthood in that culture (John 13:1-17). As Philippians 2:3-4 exhorts, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Serving selflessly redirects our focus from ourselves to meeting needs around us.
Confessing Sins Honestly
Walking humbly with God inevitably involves confessing our sins honestly when we stumble. Rather than hiding faults out of pride, humility helps us acknowledge struggles openly to God and trusted believers who can support us (James 5:16).
Transparent confession ushers in God’s forgiveness, enabling deeper intimacy with Him. As 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Accepting Correction Graciously
Finally, walking humbly with God involves accepting correction graciously when needed. Since none of us sees perfectly, we all have blind spots needing adjustment. As Proverbs 27:6 notes, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
God sends wise voices into our lives to realign us more closely with His truth and heart. Rather than deflecting critique due to pride, humility enables us to receive godly counsel well, strengthening our growth and character.
Growing in Humility
Praying for Humility
One of the most direct ways to grow in humility before God is through prayer. We can ask God daily to reveal areas of pride in our lives and to help us walk in increasing humility. Several biblical authors like David and Paul set good examples with honest prayers asking for humble and contrite hearts (Psalm 51:10-13).
As we lift up humble prayers, God promises to draw near to us (James 4:6-10).
Studying Examples of Humility in Scripture
The Bible contains outstanding models of humility like Moses, Mary, and Jesus Himself. As we study how they interacted gently and humbly with others and handled positions of influence with grace, we can learn principles to apply in our own relationships.
For example, Philippians 2 shows us the supreme example of Jesus willingly humbling Himself to take on human flesh and die sacrificially for our salvation. Meditating on such passages helps reorient our perspective from self-focus to humility and service.
Practicing Submission in Relationships
Our relationships provide regular opportunities to grow in humility as we lovingly defer to others. The apostle Paul instructs believers to “in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).
As we actively listen, value others’ perspectives, apologize, and compromise, we reflect Christlike humility. Practicing submission and gracious speech in marriage, family, friendships, church, and workplace trains our hearts to walk humbly across all of life.
Serving in Hidden Ways
Humility shuns the spotlight to quietly meet needs behind the scenes. When we volunteer for positions no one else wants without needing recognition, we exemplify humble service. Things like cleaning bathrooms, taking notes in meetings, running sound and media for events, and other behind-the-scenes roles allow us to develop humility.
Jesus declared true greatness comes from humbly serving others, not from worldly ideas of fame and status (Mark 10:43-45).
Accepting Trials Humbly
Challenging life circumstances like financial struggles, illness, loss of a loved one, or rejection can grow our humility tremendously if we respond well. As we cry out to God for help and grace in trials while trusting His greater purposes, He produces lasting fruit like dependency on Him, eternal perspective, and compassion for others facing hardships.
The prophet Isaiah recorded God’s promise to revive the spirit of the humble (Isaiah 57:15). May we accept both blessings and hardships with humble, open hands!
Conclusion
Walking humbly with God is a beautiful way to live in close relationship with Him. Though humility does not come naturally to most of us, God can change our hearts and empower us to walk humbly if we submit to Him.
As we acknowledge His greatness, obey His Word, confess our sins, accept correction, and serve others, we will draw nearer to our Creator and experience more of His amazing grace. Our prideful nature may resist at first, but the rewards of walking humbly with God are beyond measure.
May we all seek to grow in humility every day as we walk closely with Him.