Humble Yourself Before the Lord (James 4)
Lately I’ve been sitting with James 4, and it’s been hitting me in ways I didn’t expect. The whole chapter is a warning against worldliness, living life with our own plans, pride, and self-sufficiency, without really stopping to acknowledge God in it all.
What really stopped me was the section at the end about boasting about tomorrow. James writes:
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.” (James 4:13–14)
That sounds so normal, right? We make plans all the time. Next week I’m doing this. This summer we’re going on vacation. If someone asks me what my plans are, I just tell them. I don’t think of it as boasting, it’s just being responsible, being a man, keeping order in my life.
But James pushes deeper. He says instead we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)
That phrase if the Lord wills has been sticking with me. Because honestly, I don’t say it enough. Most of the time I move forward as if my plans are a guarantee. And while my intentions aren’t selfish or sinful, I realize now how little credit I give to God in the everyday.
Humility at the Core
That’s where verse 10 comes in:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Humility is not just about thinking less of yourself. It’s about putting God in His rightful place. It’s acknowledging that every step I take, every plan I make, only happens if He allows it.
When I live that way, it shifts the foundation. My decisions, my goals, my conversations all come back to Jesus. Instead of saying “I’ve got this figured out,” it becomes, “Lord, I trust You with this.”
The Choice to Acknowledge God
James also says earlier in the chapter:
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
That’s big. Because the opposite of humility is pride, and pride says I don’t need God for this. And yet, in our world today, it’s so easy to live like that. We’re capable. We have technology, solutions, conveniences that make life easier than ever.
But humility is still a choice. It’s choosing to pause and acknowledge God, even when you could push forward without Him. It’s respecting His role in your life, not just in the big spiritual moments, but in the daily details.
What This Looks Like
For me, this means weaving phrases like “Lord willing” into my conversations. Not out of habit or to sound religious, but as a real reminder, my future isn’t mine, it’s His.
It means holding my plans with open hands. Whether it’s a vacation, a work project, or just next week’s schedule, I can say: “God, if this is Your will, let it be. If not, redirect me.”
And it means trusting the promise, that when we humble ourselves, He lifts us up. Not always in the way we imagine, but always in the way that draws us closer to Him.
Final Thought
James 4 is sobering, but it’s also freeing. It reminds me that I don’t have to carry the weight of my plans or my future on my own. My job is to humble myself before the Lord, to acknowledge Him in all things. And His promise is that in due time, He will lift me up.