“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30
Humility is a tricky thing, isn’t it? Somehow we have adopted this warped concept of what humility is and have subsequently incorporated it into our definition. Along the way, we have mistakenly switched around the words and rather than thinking of ourselves less, we have defined humility as thinking less of ourselves. This, of course, is an assault to everything our culture has pounded into our way of thinking and has encouraged us to ultimately discard the concept of humility altogether. What a shame!
All around us we hear, we see, we read, “Me! Me! Me!” We are so busy ensuring our own rights, privileges, and voices are heard and protected that we have stopped looking around us to see others. The narrative of our culture is quite literally, “Me first!” Sure, self-care is absolutely necessary and relevant, but within moderation and never at the expense of getting ahead of others.
2026 has been a journey of humility for me. Unexpectedly, our family endured challenging transition and suffering. Somehow, though, I never lost the certainty that God was still good and that God was using this situation to bring about a greater purpose and plan. But I couldn’t see it–the purpose or the plan. What I sensed was God cultivating deep within my heart something that the enemy, nor anyone else, would never be able to take from me–growth, spiritual maturity, wisdom, faith, quiet, and humility.
But, like with any other sort of growth, the evidence is slow and takes time to see. It all began in February of this year, when winter had frozen the ground around us and the trees were in their own hibernation. I am a writer, and I lost my words. I would walk past my desk, look at my typewriter, stare at my MacBook, and think, “I have nothing to say. I have lost my words.” I believed that, like the trees were preparing for the next season, God, too, was preparing me for whatever He had planned in my next season. And the loss of words was all a preparation. An opportunity to stop speaking and merely listen.
I have done a lot of listening in these last few months. My voice has grown quieter in a sense because God Himself is settling something in me. He is opening my eyes to view life through a different lens, a humble one. One that doesn’t have to be heard or defend myself. One that humbly knows that God sees, God knows, and that is enough. He is teaching me to ask and to wait. To exist in the faith and belief that God is always good. To trust His purpose and wait on His plan.
Humility is all about perspective. Where am I in relation and position to where God is? How do I view Him? As an accessory to my life or as the main event? I was listening to a podcast in which Frances Chan was being interviewed. He said something that resonated with me. His ministry has boomed, but he himself feels called to go from the big stage to small because that is where faith grows and the work of the local fellowship of believers occurs. In my journey to humility, though, I heard the concept of being okay with the small and the simple. More than that, the call is to be humble before the Lord and participate in kingdom work right where we are.
Humility listens. Humility doesn’t have to be heard but also knows when it is time to speak up. Humility looks beyond the hurt of the moment and is able to see the wounded around us. Humility prays for the person who is hurting us, knowing we, too, are unworthy of the love and forgiveness of the Father, yet we have it. Humility says “you first.” Humility is the right perspective of who we are to God and walking in the freedom that is His. Humility is the way of Jesus.
I still cannot tell you God’s full purpose in this growing season, but I know that humility is a piece of it in preparation for what He is about to do. I’ve watched the seemingly dead trees return to life and vibrancy through the transition of winter to spring and now nearly summer. I paid closer attention this year to the process of leaves returning to the trees in their luscious green color. The trees are so full right now, but it didn’t happen all at once. Growth came slowly, one day at a time. I know, I was watching. But then, all of a sudden, the trees were abundantly bloomed.
So it has been for me in this season. The growth has been taking place, slowly, hidden in my heart, one bud at a time. Though the fruit is not yet evident, humility is.
The Satisfied Soul 
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