Humility is one of those words that sounds negative but totally isn’t when you understand some things about it. When we hear “humility,” we might think of “humiliation,” or to say someone is humble might seem that we mean she is weak. These are negative contexts for humility, but what about positive contexts? James has a lot of good things to say about humility. He says that humility comes from wisdom. He also says that God gives grace to those who are humble.  

Let’s think for a moment about what James might be getting at in his praise for humility. He says that God gives grace to the humble, but resists the arrogant (proud). Does God now favor one type of person over another? Does God purposefully withhold help from folks with big egos? Hardly. Scripture tells us that God shows no favoritism at all. So maybe grace isn’t a token of God’s appreciation for good behavior, but has more to do with the fact that humility allows us to receive the grace that God offers to us all. I like to call this “The Grace Space.”

Grace is supernatural energy to do what is beyond our ability to do. It is God accomplishing on our behalf what we cannot do for ourselves. And it takes humility to allow that to happen. The humble person recognizes what she cannot do and welcomes help from God (and others!). The proud person, by contrast, continues to go it alone, trying filling the void left by her weakness however she can- never leaving space for grace.  

Do you find yourself unable to accomplish something? Do you find yourself lacking in ability? Energy? Time? Money? Self-control? That lack is The Grace Space! Let God fill it! Don’t try to cover it up or fill it yourself. Here is your chance for humility and for God to accomplish something on your behalf (and when God does something, it’s pretty spectacular). Humility comes from wisdom. Let’s be wise today by leaving room for God’s supernatural energy – The Grace Space.