David Mathis - Humbled: Welcoming the Uncomfortable Work of God

Do you ever tune out when the doctor reminds you to eat a healthy diet and maintain an exercise program? You know you need to do those things, but perhaps what you are lacking is a timely or compelling why to fuel your motivation. If this is how you regard the scriptural exhortation to humble yourself, the pages that follow will help you tune in to many timely and compelling whys . Humbled will give you a new perspective of the myriad of ways that God works in your life.

Gloria Furman , author of Labor with Hope and A Tale of Two Kings

David is once again a very reliable guide. He is careful with Scripture and always clear and pastoral. In this short book, he takes an important piece of humilityhumble yourselfand lets us delight in being a little smaller and a little less special.

Ed Welch , author, counselor, and faculty member at CCEF

Humility is a counter-intuitive invitation to holy bliss and human flourishingto receive with gratitude our creatureliness and to live so that the glory of God shines through us. This book from David Mathis is a powerful and concise treatment of an indispensable virtue.

Trevin Wax , vice president for research and resource development at the North American Mission Board and visiting professor at Wheaton College; author of Rethink Your Self , This Is Our Time , and Counterfeit Gospels

The Bibles call to humility is clear and yet few of us pursue it with the diligence of which the Bible speaks. What David Mathis has given us in this book is a brief, clear, sober, and most importantly humble call for the pursuit of the uniquely human virtue of humility to the glory of God. Humility does not come naturally. Nothing that glorifies Christ ever does. David Mathis reminds us that it is the pleasure of the Holy Spirit to direct us in humility and thus make us more like Christ, who amazingly humbled himself. This is a quick read, yet long-lasting and encouraging in its impact.

Anthony Carter , lead pastor of East Point Church; author of Running from Mercy and Black and Reformed

Although humility is a quality many of us admire, very few of us understand its significance or desire to pursue it personally. In Humbled , David Mathis has contributed a work that I believe will unlock an essential teaching of Scripture that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. I am so grateful for how David uses Scripture faithfully to show us why humility is to be desired, and yet he is realistic with the difficult work that must take place to produce humility in our hearts. It is truly a work that is initiated by God but one that we participate in. David gives practical advice on how to position ourselves for this deep work of God in our lives and reminds us that humility is at the heart of the gospel.

Afshin Ziafat , lead pastor, Providence Church, Frisco, Texas; council member, The Gospel Coalition

Humbled is a small but mighty book, packed with biblical wisdom and countercultural insight. Mathis is incisive, eloquent, and rigorously faithful to Scripture. I cant recommend this book enough, especially to my fellow young Christians.

Jaquelle Crowe Ferris , author, This Changes Everything ; cofounder, TheYoungWriter.com

David Mathis serves us all by pointing us to a topic we cant think too much about. I give much of my time to leading conversations about race and racism. The number one thing I wish we all had more of in the conversation is humility. Mathis reminds us that God is the One who humbles us. Read this book to learn how you should respond to His merciful, humbling handhowever heavy it may seem.

Isaac Adams , assistant pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church; founder, United? We Pray

Biblical, insightful, and convicting, Humbled is a fresh reminder to receive the humbling of God as a call to become more Christlike. In our world of self-promotion, Mathis challenges us to heed the lessons of humility woven throughout Scripture and welcome the uncomfortable work of God who brings all things for our good and His glory.

Vaneetha Risner , author of Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption

This book offers sweet relief for those being humbled and a clear path of preparation for those in more clement seasons. Mathis weaves insights from the stories of kings in the Bible, culminating in the humility of the King of kings. This powerful book would make an excellent study for Sunday school, small groups, or leadership teams.

Gerrit Dawson , senior pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge

In Humbled , Mathis has once again given the church a resource that not only engages the heart and mind, but is also clearly purposed to equip our hands for daily Christian living. This work feels as timely as it does timeless. David is faithful to let the word of God do the heavy lifting as he clarifies, at times with great nuance, the purpose and process behind the command to humble yourself. With every passing chapter, I felt a growing excitement at the blessing that could reach my own heart, home, and city if God were to do this kind of Humbled work in me.

Matt Bradner , staff development, Campus Outreach

Copyright 2021 by David Mathis

All rights reserved.

978-1-0877-5174-0

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 241.4

Subject Heading: HUMILITY / CHRISTIAN LIFE / SELF-CONTROL

All Scriptures are from the English Standard Version ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Throughout this book the author uses italics in Scripture to show emphasis.

It is the Publishers goal to minimize disruption caused by technical errors or invalid websites. While all links are active at the time of publication, because of the dynamic nature of the internet, some web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed and may no longer be valid. B&H Publishing Group bears no responsibility for the continuity or content of the external site, nor for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

Cover design by B&H Publishing Group. Photo by Studio_Loona/shutterstock.

To Megan

Introduction

G od humbled the whole world in 2020.

First China, then Italy, England, and all of Europe. Then, the purported greatest nation in the world, at least in many American eyes, was humbled as much, if not more, than any other. I cant speak for other countries, but as an American, I remember wave after humbling wave, and the ripples havent yet subsided.

Here it all seemed to turn on a dime. Coronavirus in China was back-page news. Then, seemingly all of a sudden, fever pitch. And you know its serious when Americans cancel a major sporting event, like the NCAA basketball tournament. Then the NBA season. And Major League Baseball sent everyone home from Spring Training.

States instituted lockdowns, forced quarantines, and mask mandates in varying degrees. Idol after American idol was postponed and cancelled. We were awash in uncertainty and wild speculation. Even the seeming experts were out of their league. We were waking afresh to how little we really know, how little control we have, and how fragile our lives and world can be.

As we struggled to wade through the new avalanche of enigmas unleashed by COVID-19, the death of George Floyd (not far from my own home), and the subsequent protests and riots, in Minneapolis and beyond, brought additional waves of humbling. Not only about the present. Now more questions about the past. And what will this all mean for our future?

Of course, the humbling didnt stay nice and hermetically sealed off to 2020. Just days into the new year, as Congress gathered to count the electoral votes, a mob breached barriers to push onto the grounds, and some into the halls, of the Capitol itself, some snapping selfies, but some armed, seemingly ready to unleash shocking violence if given the chance.