Who likes to humble himself? Who likes to beat down his pride? To humble yourself is a very difficult concept to accept. However, the Bible teaches us that humbling ourselves before God will eventually lead to our exaltation.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time – 1 Peter 5:6

What does it mean to humble ourselves under the hand of God? It is to live our lives in obedience to God, even if it means setting aside our pride.

Among other things it includes:

• Loving our enemies – Matthew 5:44
• Turn the other cheek – Matthew 5:39
• Forgiving those who sin against us – Mark 11:25
• Not avenging ourselves – Romans 12:19

None of these are easy, because our natural tendency is to try to repair any damage to our person almost immediately.  I think that humbling ourselves is against human nature.

What God is asking from us is not arbitrary, since he experienced the benefits of obedience.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:5-11

To humble ourselves under God’s hand is not to conform to the pattern of this world, and to test and approve what God’s will is (Romans 12:2). It is to let Christ to be revealed in our lives allowing our imperfect nature to be transformed by His perfection. It is to acknowledge that nothing on earth compares to the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). It is to begin living eternity now.

It is worth to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.