9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
James 4:4-10
Humble Yourselves and God Will Lift You Up
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Daniel 10:10-12
Humbly Trembling
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
I personally believe that humility surrounds and encompasses Jesus, and how He lived and lives...Throughout the days He lived on earth, they were all lived in humbleness...
C. S, Lewis wrote that, “Perhaps if man is finally to know the bodiless, timeless, transcendent Ground of the whole universe not as a mere philosophical abstraction but as the LORD who, despite this transcendence, is "not far from any one of us", as an utterly concrete Being (far more concrete than we) whom man can fear, love, address, and "taste", he must begin far more humbly and far nearer home, with the local altar, the traditional feast, and the treasured memories of God's judgements, promises, and mercies.”...
We might being our path to God in a humble way...We should look to our Father in humbleness...
Humbleness is taught throughout the Bible...Jesus taught with a great, yet gentle humbleness...Daniel was in the Presence of God and gained understanding because of his humbleness...James tells us that God opposes the proud, but shows favor to those who are humble...If we humble ourselves before the Lord, then He will lift us up...Pride, which is the opposite of humility, is an obstacle for us getting close to the LORD...Pride is a hindrance in love and loving others...So with pride it is very difficult to find the Presence of the LORD, and our pride keeps the LORD hidden...I would think that being proud, makes it harder to be a servant, and serve the LORD...St. James wrote, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."...One might not think about it, but our own pride lifts us up (in our eyes), and we are the ones doing the lifting...This desire to lift ourselves up to show others what we can do, instead of allowing the LORD to lift us is at the heart of pride...Pride is a personal thing...It is an inward and internal thing...Pride tends to give us this exaggerated sense that we are important...We start thinking more of ourselves and less of others...Like the Pharisee, who watched the tax collector off in the distance, we want to tell others what we can do, or what we have done, or what we are able to do...And this is not a sign of grace or mercy, and is not not a showing of love for our neighbor or for God...And the more we exalt ourselves the harder it is to love and be loved...
We should forsake our pride and begin humbly...We should begin near home and humble ourselves and our attitudes each and every day...Humbleness opens our heart to find and seek God...
The fear of God, feeling the nearness of God, and feeling the LOVE of God starts with this humble beginning...This is the way God is, and the way to Him...For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted...The more humbleness we can show, the more we want to feel the Presence of God, and get closer to Him...The more humble we are the closer we are to His Kingdom...