Humility Begins with Hearing God

Humility doesn’t begin with a personality change or a new attitude. It begins with a posture one that listens.

Not the kind of listening that nods along while planning a rebuttal. Not the passive kind that hears but forgets. Real humility listens to God with the intent to understand, receive, and obey. It’s not a product of willpower or self-improvement. It’s the fruit of surrender.

The Bible tells us that God “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). But how do we actually grow in humility? According to Scripture, it starts with how we respond to His Word.

Start the Day with a Choice

Every morning, you choose which voice will shape your day. Will it be the noise of the news, your own swirling thoughts, the pressures of emails and notifications or the steady, grounding voice of God?

Some voice always goes first. And whichever voice that is will orient your heart. As the Psalmist writes, “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice” (Psalm 5:3). Starting the day with Scripture isn’t just a good habit. It’s an act of humility. It’s your way of saying, “I don’t know best God does.”

Likewise, the beginning of each week offers the same opportunity. Sitting under faithful preaching is a humble act. It’s not just about being informed. It’s about being formed shaped by the truth, challenged by the Spirit, and comforted by the promises of Christ.

Hezekiah and Josiah: Humble Before the Word

Two kings in Israel’s history show us what humility before God looks like.

Hezekiah heard God’s Word through the Law and responded with immediate obedience. He didn’t invent something new. He returned to what God had already said and called the people to do the same (2 Chronicles 30:5–12). Some laughed. Some obeyed. But the humble listened and came.

Josiah, years later, discovered the Book of the Law in the temple. His response? He tore his robes in sorrow. He sought God. And Scripture tells us why God honored him: “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words” (2 Chronicles 34:27).

They didn’t just hear God’s Word. They welcomed it, even when it was hard to hear.

Zedekiah: Proud Before the Word

Then there’s Zedekiah, who provides the tragic contrast. He “did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 36:12). Zedekiah heard the Word of God but resisted it. His downfall wasn’t political it was spiritual. He refused to bow before the voice of God.

This is the same danger we face today. We may not outright deny Scripture, but we can dismiss it subtly treating it as optional, reshaping it for our preferences, or ignoring it when it’s inconvenient.

Two Practices for Humble Hearing

So how do we welcome God’s Word in a way that shapes true humility? Two spiritual disciplines make a difference:

1. Work to Understand God’s Word

Understanding Scripture takes effort. It’s not a casual scroll or a checkbox on a reading plan. It’s intentional engagement re-reading, pausing, questioning, and meditating.

Daniel modeled this beautifully. He “set his heart to understand” the writings of Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2–3). And God responded “From the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard” (Daniel 10:12).

Understanding God’s Word is itself an act of humility. It says, “God, Your thoughts are higher than mine. Teach me.”

2. Seek to Obey God’s Word

It’s not enough to understand Scripture we must also obey it. James warns us not to be “hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Humility doesn’t end at comprehension. It continues in action.

Pharaoh, for example, understood Moses’s words clearly. He knew God’s command. But “he refused to humble himself” (Exodus 10:3). Understanding without obedience is still rebellion.

The humble heart says, “Even when it’s hard, I will do what You say, because You are God and I am not.”

Listen with Reverence, Live with Dependence

Every encounter with Scripture is a moment of decision: Will you resist or receive? Will you hear with ears ready to obey or filter God’s Word through your preferences?

The humble person doesn’t try to use God’s Word for their own ends. They are used by it. They don’t twist it. They’re shaped by it.

If you want to cultivate humility, build a life that listens.

• Listen daily in your quiet time and in your inner thoughts.

• Listen weekly through corporate worship and the preached Word.

• Listen actively with your whole heart engaged and open.

• Listen expectantly knowing God speaks today through what He’s already said.

Humility Is a Posture Before a Person

Humility is not found in how you talk about yourself. It’s revealed in how you listen to God.

Because listening, real listening, always leads to surrender.

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