Humility
The Christmas story is woven with wonder—but also with quiet, everyday humility. Not the flashy kind that draws attention, but the surrendered, steady, obedient humility that honors God in the unseen places. Each person in the narrative—Joseph, Mary, the shepherds—shows us a different glimpse of what humble faith looks like lived out.
Joseph enters the story not with fanfare, but with restraint and compassion.
“Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Matthew 1:19 (NIV)
He was a righteous man—just a man, really—but one unwilling to shame Mary publicly. His first instinct was mercy. And even then, he didn’t rush. He paused. He considered. He allowed space for God to speak.
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
Some of God’s clearest direction comes when we slow down long enough to listen.
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:7-8 (NIV)
When the Lord is set before our emotions—before fear, confusion, or the desire to self-protect—we can walk in obedience rather than reaction.
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Matthew 1:24 (NIV)
He submitted. He trusted. He stepped into a calling that made no earthly sense, and he did it quietly. Faithfully.
Mary, too, models a humility that is both courageous and surrendered.
“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38 (NIV)
Her response wasn’t polished or rehearsed—it was yielded. Open-handed. Ready to receive whatever God had chosen for her.
“And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” Luke 1:46-47 (NIV)
She exalted God before she even understood the full weight of her calling.
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 (NIV)
Humility reflects, remembers, and quietly treasures the work of God—even when the road is marked with mystery.
And then, there are the shepherds—ordinary, overlooked, pulled into the center of God’s announcement.
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” Luke 2:8 (NIV)
They were faithful in their normal duties. Anonymous. Routine. Yet they were the ones God chose to hear the news first.
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’” Luke 2:15 (NIV)
“Go and see.” They didn’t understand why they were invited. They couldn’t explain the message. But they trusted it—and they hurried.
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:16 (NIV)
Their faith became sight.
And they didn’t keep it to themselves. Humility doesn’t hide the glory of God—it magnifies it.
They made it known.
They glorified Him.
They praised Him.
The Christmas story invites us once again to practice the same kind of humility:
A humility that listens.
A humility that yields.
A humility that trusts.
A humility that praises.
May we, like Joseph, pause long enough to let God lead.
May we, like Mary, treasure what He is doing—seen and unseen.
And may we, like the shepherds, run toward His presence and make His goodness known.
