When God Feels Far AwaySample

Day Three: Choosing Humility over Pride

Humility works in breaking down defenses. It builds bridges and invites others into a position of value and worth. It makes others want to be with us—and us with them. Humility is a pathway to navigating divine distance because it draws us close.

In the story of Esther, this theme of humility is introduced early on. Building upon the already established trait of trust in God’s providence, the narrator paints a picture of two very different kinds of character—one built upon pride and the other upon humility.

Each choice leads to a very different experience with God.

Wounded pride explains why the king banished Queen Vashti for her refusal to be paraded in front of his dinner party. Now his pride led the way as he pursued his own pleasures.

Pride is about unnecessarily inflating certain aspects of ourselves. Pride is the culprit when we make everything about us in order to diminish or neglect others and even God. Into this pride-filled situation entered the humility of Esther and her cousin, Mordecai. 

Though Mordecai is a cousin to Esther, he adopts her as his daughter and treats her with care and respect. The king was never known for caring for needy family members—only for using people for his own desires. Mordecai, thinking not of himself, looked after Esther in a purely fatherly way. In contrast to pride’s distorted view of self, humility has an accurate view of oneself.

Mordecai and Esther both reveal they had a right estimation of themselves. They knew the gifts they had to offer this world, and they knew their limitations. Contrast that with the king, who did not restrain his pride. This story is one of character built upon pride set against character built upon humility.

This is an extremely important principle to grasp as we work through times when God feels far away. Many people in our highly competitive modern culture see humility as something for the weak. Something that will hold them down, lessen their drive and ambition. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 As the story of Esther progresses, we’ll see that both Mordecai and Esther exhibit profound strength and stamina in and through their humility, not despite it. Humility is one of the foundational tools God gives us to navigate times of divine distance. God loves a humble spirit and such a position in our heart and attitude allows us to draw closer to Him.

How do you think humility can address, or even solve, some of the challenges you are facing?