Topical Bible: Humility: Afflictions Intended to Produce

◄ Humility: Afflictions Intended to Produce ►

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Humility is a central theme in the Christian faith, often seen as a virtue that believers are called to cultivate. The Bible frequently illustrates how God uses afflictions and trials to produce humility in His people, shaping their character and drawing them closer to Him.

Biblical Foundation

The Scriptures provide numerous examples of how God uses afflictions to instill humility. In Deuteronomy 8:2-3 , Moses reminds the Israelites of their 40 years in the wilderness, a period of testing and humbling: "Remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

This passage highlights the purpose of affliction as a means to humble the Israelites, teaching them dependence on God rather than on their own strength or resources.

Examples from the Lives of Biblical Figures

1. Job: The account of Job is a profound example of how suffering can lead to humility. Job, a man described as "blameless and upright" (Job 1:1), endures immense suffering. Through his trials, Job comes to a deeper understanding of God's sovereignty and his own limitations. In Job 42:5-6 , Job confesses, "My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes."

2. Paul: The Apostle Paul speaks of a "thorn in the flesh" given to him to prevent pride. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 , he writes, "To keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.'" Through this affliction, Paul learns to rely on God's grace, embracing his weaknesses as a means to experience God's strength.

Theological Insights

Afflictions serve as a divine tool to cultivate humility, reminding believers of their dependence on God. Proverbs 3:11-12 advises, "My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not loathe His reproof; for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." This discipline, often manifesting as affliction, is an expression of God's love, intended to refine and humble His children.

James 1:2-4 further encourages believers to "consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Here, trials are seen as opportunities for growth, leading to spiritual maturity and humility.

Practical Application

For Christians, understanding the role of afflictions in producing humility can transform their perspective on suffering. Rather than viewing trials as mere hardships, believers are encouraged to see them as opportunities for spiritual growth and deeper reliance on God. This perspective aligns with the call to "humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you" (1 Peter 5:6).

In summary, the Bible presents afflictions as a divine means to cultivate humility, drawing believers closer to God and shaping them into the likeness of Christ. Through trials, Christians learn to depend on God's strength, wisdom, and grace, ultimately leading to a deeper, more humble walk with the Lord.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Leviticus 26:41
And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 8:3
And he humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Lamentations 3:20
My soul has them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in ...
... But we more frequently see, that afflictions are the means ... to have been written as
their intended portion ... a joy attended with the deepest humility, and animates ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse vii of the necessity.htm

In the Second Place, Repentance and Grace are Obscured. ...
... Therefore afflictions are not always punishments for certain past ... are the works of
God, intended for our ... the mouth, confession; in the work, entire humility. ...
/.../melanchthon/the apology of the augsburg confession/part 17 in the second.htm

Attributes of Love.
... a bearing up under trials, afflictions, crosses, persecutions ... But humility, considered
as a virtue, consists in the ... By this it is not intended, that Christians ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture xv attributes of love.htm

Faustus States his Objections to the Morality of the Law and the ...
... his own experience, says that the afflictions and persecutions of ... of the bodily
appetites is intended to secure ... a lodging to the Teacher of humility; for in ...
/.../faustus states his objections to.htm

On the Difficulties and Duties of the Christian Life.
... works which he performed, all the sad afflictions which he ... That humility, which cometh
from a view of our own ... to a far greater bulk than at first intended. ...
/.../scougal/the life of god in the soul of man/part iii on the difficulties.htm

Lives of Faith and Trust
... She lived a life of humility, and perfect simplicity, yet strength of ... It seemed as
if God intended to bereave us of her, for he ... Many are the afflictions of the ...
/.../various/the wonders of prayer/lives of faith and trust.htm

The Resurrection of Christ; his Last Interview with his Disciples ...
... Although they had beheld his poverty and humility, and had ... I rather think, that nothing
more is intended than to ... of your adversaries, by the afflictions of the ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture i the resurrection of.htm

Israel's Hope Encouraged;
... The cause from whence these afflictions arise is known to ... 47), and these are they
that are intended in the ... advantages.2. It teaches us also humility, and that ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/israels hope encouraged.htm

Fourthly; all the [Credenda, Or] Doctrines, which the True, Simple ...
... wonderful and amazing instance of humility and condescension ... and terrible than even
those afflictions which by ... speculations; much less were they intended for an ...
/.../xiii proposition xiii fourthly all.htm

Doctrinal and Moral Treatises. Index of Subjects.
... 766]364; really hungered and thirsted: saw fit not to abstain like the Baptist,
[767]410; the object of love, [768]437, [769]452; taught humility when near His ...
/.../on care to be had for the dead /doctrinal and moral treatises index.htm