Choosing Humility and Obedience
Beloved, I speak now to your heart: What kind of mind shapes your choices? What posture fills your soul as you walk before God and others? In Philippians 2:6–8, the Apostle Paul reveals the very mind of Yeshua the Messiah—a mind not marked by pride or striving for position, but by deliberate humility and total obedience. If you truly belong to Him, His mind must become your mind. His path must become your path.
“[Christ Jesus] who, as He already existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it], but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8, AMP).
Pause and consider this carefully: Yeshua was fully God. Yet He chose not to cling to His divine privileges. He emptied Himself. He humbled Himself. He obeyed His Father even unto death—the cruelest, most shameful death known to man. And He did all this for you.
Now, beloved, what about you?
The Holy Spirit asks today: Will you hold tightly to your rights, or will you let them go in love? Will you insist on being honored, or will you choose the servant’s path? The mind of Christ is not a theory. It is a daily decision. You, like Yeshua, are called to empty yourself—of pride, of ambition, of self-will. The cross is not just His; it is yours too.
Many speak of following Jesus, but few embrace the road He walked. Paul writes these words not to impress but to invite. This is your calling: to think like Christ, live like Christ, and love like Christ. That means bowing low. That means obeying God even when it costs everything.
You may wonder, “How can I do this? I am not Messiah.” And yet the same Spirit who empowered Yeshua empowers you. El Shaddai is at work within you both to will and to act according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). But you must yield. You must choose it. Yeshua chose. He did not have to leave heaven’s glory. He did not have to endure the shame of the cross. But He did. For love. For obedience. For the joy set before Him.
Beloved, are you willing?
You must ask yourself plainly: Am I clinging to my own importance, or am I pouring myself out for others? Am I obeying God only when it feels good, or even unto death—death to my plans, my comfort, my preferences?
The Church does not need more people standing tall. It needs more who will kneel. It needs those who will embrace the mind of Christ without excuses, without delay.
This is not only a word for leaders or pastors. It is for every believer: the call to cruciform living, shaped by the cross and marked by surrender. Humility is not weakness. It is the power of God made visible through us.
Consider
Imagine a grand banquet hall filled with noble guests seated at a towering table. At the head of the table sits the King Himself. The finest foods are laid out, glittering in gold and silver vessels. Now picture a servant entering quietly— not with fanfare, but carrying a simple bowl of water. The servant kneels and begins washing the feet of each guest, one by one, unnoticed by many, yet seen by the King. That servant is following the mind of Christ. The King rises to embrace him, for it was never about the seat of honor but the heart of service.
So today, beloved, choose. Set your mind on Yeshua. Make His attitude your own. If you have been clinging to position or demanding your way, lay it down now before the Lord. If you have resisted God’s voice, surrender again. Let your heart cry out: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
Prayer
Abba Father,
Give me the mind of Your Son. Let me not cling to status or comfort. Teach me to empty myself for Your glory. Shape my life by the cross. Teach me obedience—true, joyful obedience—even unto death. Strengthen me by Your Spirit to walk humbly, to walk faithfully, until the day I see You face to face.
In Yeshua’s mighty name, amen.