We can never achieve humility simply by willing it to appear. Otherwise, we’ll be thinking about ourselves and our valiant attempts to be humble. What we need is to be so gripped by Jesus and His grace that we truly forget about ourselves. Here are some helpful reflections on humility from Gavin Ortlund, related to his new book Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness.

One of our staff recently sent me this Twitter thread, from a pastor named Michael Clary, who serves at Christ the King Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. His words are powerful. What he shares reminds me of this warning from J.C. Ryle: “Let us watch against pride in every shape—pride of intellect, pride of wealth, pride of our own goodness.”

Scripture says Christ must become greater, and we must become less. Does our becoming less make Him greater? Of course not. Can our becoming less show Him to be greater? Yes. Hope you enjoy these profound thoughts on humility from J.I. Packer, one of my favorite writers and people.

“God opposes the proud,” 1 Peter says. That’s a word used for battle, and to oppose means to be at war with. Do you really want to be at war with God? No! That's a war we can never win.

When we’re prideful, we make God our opponent: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6). There are many things wrong—not to mention ludicrous—with making God our opponent, but the most obvious one is this: it’s a battle we can never win.

In this video filmed by Randy Alcorn's home church Good Shepherd Community Church, Randy reads and explains 1 Peter 5:5 and how we can live by these words. 

While pride twists and destroys us, humility preserves and protects us. Every day, every hour, often unconsciously, we choose either to humble ourselves or to be proud. Since pride tends to be our default condition, humility requires deliberate, intentional action.

I’m an insulin-dependent diabetic. Without a doubt, the greatest lesson I’ve learned through it is to depend not on myself, but God.

Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” This is what humility is—it’s recognizing who we really are.