Have you ever demanded that God act a certain way or act on your timeline? For example, you tell God to heal you or a loved one from an illness now, not later, or you want God to make all your debts disappear today when payments are due.
This type of demand on God is like what occurs in Matthew 27:41-44 when Jesus is crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for human sin and make way for humanity to be in a right relationship with God. Some people demanded that Jesus take Himself off the cross and save His life to prove that He was truly God. Those who made this demand were essentially communicating that God had to do what they wanted, when they wanted, for them to believe in Him. Their demand undermines the very foundation of faith and exposes the pride of those who make such demands of God. They refuse to acknowledge who God is and God’s right and authority to do what He chooses to accomplish His purposes.
Humble Conversation vs Prideful Demands
Humbling yourself before God means you accept God’s purposes for your life and stop trying to design your own life with your timeline and agenda. You don’t make demands of God, but rather, you talk with God through humble submission. God knows perfectly how to guide, protect, and empower you to experience an abundant life with Him, but God invites you into a relationship with Him to talk about everything.
When you think or act like you know best instead of God, you show your pride and often make demands of God. Pride puts you in opposition to God. Humility positions you to be a recipient of God’s grace (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Grace is God’s favor toward you that you do not earn or deserve – it’s unmerited!
God’s Wisdom vs Human Strife
God inspires three different writers, Solomon, James, and Peter, to pen the same teaching about how God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Solomon is the son of King David and is considered the wisest man ever to live. James is the half-brother of Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, who was the leader of the church in Jerusalem after Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension; and Peter is a disciple of Jesus, one of the three closest disciples who led the followers of Jesus at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41).
When King Solomon is instructing his son in the wisdom of God, he teaches him to:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not lean on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
Later in that same chapter of Proverbs, Solomon says, “The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34). Solomon knows the temptation to trust in yourself and believe that you know best instead of God. Therefore, Solomon warns his son not to think too highly of himself, envy others, copy their ways, or place demands on God.
Solomon is wise because God made Solomon wise, and he shares the truth about humility and pride with his son. Pride demands that God fulfill any requests made of Him. But God resists those who are prideful toward Him and make demands of Him.
Humility expresses a clear distinction between who God is and who is the weaker, dependent human in the relationship. God responds with His grace because of who He is. Solomon knew God and sought to impart God’s wisdom so his son could experience the life God intended for him.
James shared the same truth about God with the Jewish believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire who were having quarrels among themselves because of their selfishness, jealousy of what others have, and their evil desires within them. James reprimands them for using prayer as a means of placing demands on God, but James also affirms that they should be asking/praying to God about everything, but with the right motives and with humility before God (reference James 4:1-10).
And He [God] gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
God promises to care for you (Matthew 6:31-34). Pride wants to control the situation while simultaneously demanding God’s protection and provision, but God does not work that way. Humility requires you to give your worries, anxieties, and cares to God from a place of dependence and trust that God knows best. You avoid comparison with others and acknowledge your selfishness before God in conversation with Him, asking God to act on your behalf as He sees fit.
Peter writes to both Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus scattered throughout the Roman Empire the same teaching – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7
Peter teaches that every believer in Jesus is commanded to humble themselves before God, not because God makes believers in Jesus submit, but as willful submission to fully receive God’s grace and care. God invites you to humble yourself so you can be a recipient of all He has for you – God’s mighty power on display in your life!
Whether King Solomon was imparting God’s wisdom to his son or James and Peter were teaching new believers in Jesus how to live humbly before God and with others, – all three men were confident that God responds to humility and resists pride.
Which are you – humble or proud? How are you living daily – for yourself, using prayer to place demands on God, carrying all your burdens because you think you know best and can’t bring yourself to trust God and release control to Him?
If you trust God for the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus and have been granted a right relationship with God because of your faith in Jesus, why is it so difficult to trust God for your essential needs? Or if you are blessed and have your essential needs met, why is it so difficult to trust God with your wants and desires?
Think about your most pressing concerns. Are most of your concerns about essential needs (i.e., food, water, shelter, clothing, safety, etc.)? Or are most of your concerns about common wants – improved health, financial security, and meaningful relationships? Or do you find yourself demanding or bargaining with God for earthly desires– new possessions, fame, success, status, promotions, vacations, or not to work?
God is aware of everything – your needs, wants, and desires. God also has the capacity to provide for you. But have you ever thought that God forgives you of your sins and grants you a right relationship with Him for you to have an abundant, purposeful life with Him accomplishing His purposes? God has a reason for creating you. God has purposes for your life. God graciously forgives you of your sin and wants you to experience life with Him the way He designed life to be lived. But, for you to experience God’s abundant, purposeful life, you must humble yourself before God. How will you choose to live?
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; and 1 Peter 5:5
