So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The Lord is righteous.” II Chronicles 12:6 (NKJV)

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. James 4:10 (New Living Translation, NLT)

There is some misunderstanding in the body of Christ about the meaning of humility. Many of us think that being humble means that we lower and debase ourselves. Some people will demean themselves, speaking poorly of themselves and not accepting genuine compliments, because they think they are being humble. And sometimes, people act meek and mild for people to see their “humility.” But, when we look at Scripture, humility does not mean for us to lower ourselves and abuse ourselves so people will think little of us.

True, we are to avoid being prideful and full of ourselves. We are not better than other people. Everything we do is to be for the glory of God and not of ourselves. However, humility has to do with our relationship with the Lord more than it has to do with how people view us. Most of the time, when the Bible speaks of people humbling themselves, it speaks of them humbling themselves BEFORE THE LORD. Humility means that we acknowledge that God is God and we are not. Humility involves lowering ourselves before Him to show that we rely on Him for all things. It is a show of dependence on God and not on ourselves. Humble people know they have talents and gifts, but they always acknowledge that what they have has been given to them by God. They understand and constantly remind themselves that they are nothing without the Lord. They don’t degrade who they are, but they celebrate themselves and their accomplishments in the context of how God made them and enabled them to do what they have done.

According to James, when we choose to rely on God and always remember that any good thing in us has come from Him, He will then lift us up and promote us. On the other hand, if we get full of ourselves and begin to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, we become prideful and the outcome will not be good.

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)

When we humble ourselves before God, and stop trying to do everything and fix everything in our own feeble strength, God can go to work on our behalf.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

This speaks of us humbling ourselves both individually and as a people. When a nation humbles itself before God, He will restore their land. As we turn to God and seek His face, admitting that we need Him to take care of things, He will do what we cannot do, and restoration will be ours.