Every Step Forward

By Dr. James MacDonald (This is a pastor that I listen to often. I was moved by what he has written here and offer it to you.)


Every good step you’ve made in your spiritual life has been a step of humility.

Isn’t that right? Think about the seasons of growth you’ve experienced in your walk with Christ—those times when your faith went to the next level. Those seasons are marked by a sincere brokenness before God that opens our hearts to a genuine transformational encounter with the living Christ.

If you can point to a time when you came to Jesus for salvation, you know what humility is. On that day you said, “God, I need You. I need Your grace. I need Your forgiveness. There’s nothing in myself that can earn Your favor, I need what You’re offering.”

That’s humility. You can’t have a passionate, persevering relationship with Christ without it. You need to have the capacity, first to submit yourself to God, then submit yourself to the difficult circumstances of life to experience the full joy God intends for you to know. God will often use the painful circumstances of life to soften our hearts and to bring us to the point of brokenness to bow before Him. In those circumstances, humility looks like this: “Lord, You’re in control. You’ve allowed this for a reason. What do you want to teach me?” God loves that moment when you’re like, “Tell me what are You trying to teach me—I want to learn it. I want whatever it is You have for me.” If you lack wisdom, ask. “I want to learn something new in this, God. I don’t want to keep aching over the same stuff over and over! What is it, Lord?” There’s humility in that. And in that place, God will give you grace.

Humility stands empty-handed before God. No demands, no requests. In seasons like this, all we can do is fall into the embrace of our loving Savior and find Him to be enough. Humility says “no” to the clamoring voice of our flesh, “no” to the pride and self-confidence that has made us so restless and unhappy for so long.

I’ll say it again, every step forward is a step of humility.

Will I live a proud or a humble life? Hebrews 3 and 4 tells us all about Jesus . . . how He humbled Himself, how faithful He is. His model runs counter-culture to our world that wants to be on top . . . first. We want to stand out, but Jesus made Himself nothing. Now, there will be a day when every knee will bow before the Lord, but in God’s program, humility comes before exaltation.

If it’s true (and it is) that every step forward in your Christian life is a step of humility, then it’s also true that every step of pride is a step backward. We need God to help us experience an overwhelming sense of our own personal sinfulness and to bow our heads before Him daily. Through His strength alone, let’s get this pride problem dealt with. If this is your desire, then pray along with me,

Father, we humble ourselves before You. In bowing our heads and our hearts, we’re saying something—we’re saying that You are God and we are not. You are the ruler; we are nothing. You are everything. Lord, there’s great joy in that. How much misery in our lives has come from asserting ourselves and proving ourselves? Forgive us for the lost opportunities to live for you because of our own pride. Strip us now of anything that promotes ourselves and fill us with Your Spirit.

Might the example of Christ stir within us a fresh desire to live lives of humility. Help us to see the joy and freedom found in that secret place. In Jesus’ name. Amen.