Do You Come to God In Humility or Humiliation?- iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - July 30, 2025
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)
It was the end of another long week. I knew I was burnt out, and yet, I just kept going. I ignored the warning signs of my body and those that my husband told me on repeat. And yet, I felt an innate desire to keep going. To push harder and faster despite my exhaustion.
Can you relate?
Sitting on my knees, I felt humiliated. God knew I was trying to do too much without breaks. So did I.
I think most of us define pride as a human emotion characterized by a feeling of satisfaction with one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions. To some degree, pride can be good when we’re proud of an accomplishment or a child who excels at a soccer game.
But did you know pride can also be a seductive sin if we allow it to be? Like many attributes, it can quickly become more negative than positive. It makes us believe that we can and should do it all like Superman or Supergirl, when the reality is we’re still fallen human beings with limitations and boundaries. We were never created to do it all, but we often try to act like we were.
And so, we keep pushing and striving. Achieving and checking off the items on our to-do lists. But what about when we hit our breaking point? What about when we come face to face with defeat, when we’re utterly and completely worn out? That, my friends, is the difference between coming to God in our humility versus our humiliation.
Don’t get me wrong: God desires to hear from us when we’re burnt out and weary. He came to give us rest. But friends, He doesn’t want us to keep living like slave drivers to our very souls, obeying Inner Pharaohs that tell us we can never stop.
Every day, you and I have an opportunity to submit to God in humility or humiliation. From the beginning, we can say, “God, I don’t have this. I need you to take control. I will do my part, but I need you to do the rest.” Or, we can say, “God, I got this all under control. I’m going to do it all because I can and will. I’m Superwoman.”
Realistically, we say the first and internalize the second. I don’t tell God I’m in control, but my actions prove otherwise. Maybe I’m not the only one to feel this way.
And yet, Jesus in His loving grace and mercy extends to us another one: acceptance rooted not in pride, but in surrender.
Pride says: I can do it all and continue to push past my boundaries.
Humility says: God, I’m exhausted and will try my best, but I have limited time and energy.
Pride says: I am self-sufficient and don’t need anyone else.
Humility says: God, anything good in me is because of you, and I need your community.
Pride says: Here are my hopes and dreams, and I will do everything in my power to achieve them.
Humility says: God, you know the desires of my heart; align them with your will in your time. I surrender all.
I think you get the picture. Pride and humility couldn’t be further opposites. And yet, I spent years believing I wasn’t prideful. Why? We stereotype pride as puffing out our chests and being better than others. But pride can also look like continuing to push ourselves past our breaking points because we refuse to believe that we’re humans with limited time and energy.
If this convicts you, know that it’s okay. It also convicts me. Hence, here I am pouring out my thoughts to help you process your own. But today, you and I have a choice to change, to pick a new path, a more realistic one rooted in grace and rest than super speed and obsessive productivity. And together, we will learn to go to the Father in humility.
Let's pray:
Dear God, we as human beings tend to think we can do it all. Not only that, but we live this way until we’re burnt out, famished, exhausted, and weary. Today, remind us to live with a mindset of humility and not humiliation. To choose you over prideful self-sufficiency and striving. This is a difficult task, but we know that with you, we can overcome even the most difficult challenges. We love, praise, and thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Agape, Amber
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
