STEPS by John Ortbergಮಾದರಿ

THE PREPARATION: BECAME ENTIRELY READY

Step Six calls us to a place of humility. After identifying our shortcomings, this step invites us to become entirely ready for God to remove them. The key here isn’t just readiness—it’s humble readiness. Humility is the posture that opens us to God’s transforming work.

Scripture reminds us repeatedly: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humility isn’t a command; it’s a reality of how God’s grace operates. Pride keeps us resistant to change, while humility creates the openness God can work with.

Humility, however, doesn’t come naturally. It often emerges through life’s humbling moments—setbacks, failures, and losses that strip away our illusions of control. These experiences, painful as they may be, teach us what the novelist Amor Towles calls “the Confederacy of the Humbled.” In this fellowship, we learn to release our attachment to status, pride, and appearances. We stop pretending, presuming, and pushing, and instead, we embrace a posture of surrender.

When we ask God to remove our shortcomings, we do so without dictating the terms. Will it be quick or slow, easy or difficult? That’s not for us to decide. Our job is simply to trust and remain open. Humility allows us to say, “God, would you?” and then let Him work in His way and His time.

TODAY'S INVITATION:

Reflect on what it means to approach God with humility. Where might pride or resistance be holding you back? Ask God to help you let go of pretending, presuming, or pushing. Begin today by humbly asking Him to remove one shortcoming, and trust Him to lead you through the process.