What does the Bible say about how to humble yourself?

(V. 10). Seventhly, the Apostle says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” We may well be humbled as we think of the condition of the professing people of God, but above all we are to be humbled because of what we find in our own hearts. The humbling is to be in the presence of the Lord. It is an inward work by which the soul is made conscious of its own littleness in the presence of God's greatness. The natural tendency is to seek to exalt ourselves before one another; only grace will lead us to humble ourselves before the Lord. As we so do, in His own time He will lift us up. Attempting to lift ourselves up, we shall be humbled.

Remark, that the humbling oneself is in the sight of the Lord, not of men - a real inward work which destroys self-esteem; realising the presence and the greatness of God, it gives Him His true place in the heart, and gives us ours also. Then all is real, and then alone we can act for God according to truth. Verses 9, 10 are the effect of the realised presence of God in a world of sin and misery, on a heart which is there, and which feels both the one and the other.

But there can be but one competent judge of a humble mind, and that one is God. Other people may judge of your humble words, humble looks, and humble ways. God, however, views the heart. So that you must begin there in this, as in all matters. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord" (James 4:10). In your private devotion, allow the light of God's word to stream into your soul and show you your true place in His presence. This is the only cure for proud thoughts and self-satisfied feelings, and the only way to become lowly in mind.

It will be found that those who are humble before God will, as a matter of course, be humble before men. At any rate I would beseech you not to strive to appear humble to others. Be unconstrained. Do not pretend to be in manners what you are not in mind; for that is hypocrisy. True, Christlike humility, that thinks nothing of self, is perhaps the most beautiful of all virtues; but the spurious kind, that is secretly proud of itself, is detestable to both God and man.

Then he exhorts them to humble themselves in the sight of the Lord and He would lift them up. It is what Christ did (Phil. 2), and He has said, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humility becomes man; it becomes his littleness before God, in the sense of the greatness of His grace, and of all that man is in himself. The great glory which the believer waits for is also the occasion of humility to him when he considers his unworthiness: he knows that he can understand and do nothing in divine things without God.

Well then, in the last chapter, you find here, at the 6th verse, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1 Peter 5:6). And here I believe we return very much to the first chapter. We can't tell in what form that "mighty hand" may humble. It may be by removing prop after prop, disappointing one expectation of the heart after another. It may be by terrible ways God may humble you; and what is worst of all, He may appear in the very act to be against you. He may seem to carry Himself so wilfully against your circumstances and your present joys, that the heart will begin to fear lest God should be against us. It is a "mighty hand;" but let that comfort you instead of frightening you. There is a great comfort in this word "mighty." It is not a "soothing hand;" it is a "mighty hand," that seems set on bruising. Well, what says the Spirit of God? "Humble yourselves" under it, for "He will exalt you." Oh how beautiful! See how roughly Joseph spoke to his brethren. He put them in prison — told the keepers to take charge of them — but in secret he wept; and, in due time, he "exalted" them.

If some who are suffering have to own that it is the result of their own folly and self-will, what then? Ah, there is only one way. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Let lowly submission mark you before Him, be honest and without guile in His presence, and in His own good time — the due time when it will be good for you — He will make a way of deliverance and raise you up.

The young were to submit themselves to those who were older, and all to one another. All were to be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. These are still the principles of His government. Under His hand they were therefore to humble themselves; they should be exalted in due time. This was to commit themselves to God. He knew what was needful. He who loved them would exalt them at the right time. He cared for them; they were to rest on Him, commit all their cares to Him.

All this will be easy if the humble spirit prevails. All are to be clothed with humility in their dealings with each other. The person of humble mind is not uppish, and hence does not readily come into collision with others. Better still, he does not come into collision with God; for God sets Himself against the proud, whilst He gives grace to the humble. The mighty hand of God is upon His people in the way of training, and often in very painful dealings, as was the case in the persecutions of these early Christians, yet under it we are to bow and in due time we shall be exalted. Meanwhile, we are to cast all the cares, which this painful state of things might produce, upon Him in the full assurance that He cares for us.

"Jonah prayed to Jehovah his God out of the fish's belly." "His" God, be it noted; for all sense of relationship was not lost (contrast 1 Sam. 15:21; 1 Kings 17:12; 1 Kings 18:10). From many unlikely quarters prayer has ascended to God through the ages, but never anything quite like this. Prisons, caves, mountains, etc. have resounded with cries of anguish, but not the belly of a fish. The chastened prophet owned the divine hand in what had befallen him. Jonah 1:15 says of the sailors. "they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea": but in Jonah 2:3, Jonah says to God Thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas." He thus owned the divine hand, and humbled himself under it. He put in practice 1 Peter 5:6-7 several centuries before the verses were penned. He was thus in the way of recovery. Deliverance can only come to souls in distress when the hand of God is acknowledged. Jonah although in the belly of the fish, looked in faith towards God's holy temple, and he was sure that He who dwelt therein would hearken to his cry. "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah: and my prayer came in to Thee, into Thy holy temple." (Jonah 2:7). This is very beautiful, as showing that even when a saint gets into a backsliding condition he knows to Whom to turn in his trouble, and is confident that God will not forsake him.

Humility is to be the right clothing for the saints of God. "They are to gird themselves with humility in this way, humility being that which will keep everything rightly adjusted, as the girdle the robe, and which would thus enable for such activity as all are called to; for humility is a grand help against discouragement by the difficulties of the way, and necessarily against all that would search out any remnant of pride in us" (F.W. Grant). Self-exaltation is the very essence of sin. God cannot tolerate it in His people. The example of Christ, who made of Himself no reputation, forbids it. God resisteth therefore always and in every way the proud, while He giveth grace to the humble. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." How little these great exhortations are considered in our times! Even among those who have the truth and believe in the revelation of God, while there is much increase in knowledge, there is little evidence of true humility. Humility will never leave us ashamed. We do not need to exalt ourselves; the Lord will do it for us.