Low notes and low places

I’ve been trying to train my voice to sing lower notes since I was a teenager, but vocal exercises and lessons never helped. After coughing out strangled melodies on numerous occasions, I stopped trying very hard and just avoided songs that did not fit comfortably within my vocal range. At least until my mom spoke the magic words that triggered a light-bulb moment:

You have to relax and create a space in your chest for the sound to resonate.

Instantly, I realized that by straining to force the notes from higher up in my throat, I had been choking out the very pitch I’d hoped to produce. When I let up and imagined the sound reverberating through an imaginary hollow behind my rib cage, I was able to sing lower. Just like that. The timbre was no match for my mom’s rich alto, but I sang the notes all the same.

Humility is like this, I think. Ignoring the need for it is like avoiding the bass clef on sheet music or listening to an orchestra with no tuba or bassoon. You miss out on the full scope of life as God intended. Yet, striving for humility is like singing with a clenched throat. It’s frustrating and ineffective.

The sweet spot between avoiding humility and striving for it is neither gray nor lukewarm. Rather, it is a return to the natural way of things—to God’s original design.

Andrew Murray wrote, “Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.”

Humility creates space in our lives for God’s presence to fill and for his purposes to be accomplished. To allow this is to settle into the posture always meant for human beings. It’s a posture of rest, dependence, sacrifice and power. Rest, because we are assured of our dignity and worth as creatures made in the image of God, wholly loved and redeemed by the blood of Christ. Dependence, because we know that we can do nothing on our own. We need God in every moment, for every breath and in every endeavor. Sacrifice, because we are called to lay down our lives for others as Jesus did. Power, because it is God’s Spirit who equips us, strengthens us, and empowers us to advance his Kingdom.

Recently, I have seen how humility makes room for God’s presence and power in my life, while pride threatens to suffocate me. 

I just finished the last semester of my doctoral coursework, not counting the dissertation I still need to write. This was, without question, the hardest year of my academic life. I could blame it on the subject matter, the workload, a teacher, or Senioritis, but the reality is this: The culprit was my pride. When faced with frustrating situations, rejection, and the possibility that I would earn the first ‘B’ of my career as a student, I found myself ready to rail against the machine or quit. 

After entertaining these thoughts long enough to make things increasingly difficult for myself and those around me, I realized that only a humble response could stem the rising tide of my indignation and ire. Humility revealed my desperate need for God’s grace. It soothed my wounded self-esteem, severing the attachment to achievement and re-grounding my identity in Christ. Surprisingly, I found freedom in releasing my rights and offering a soft response to the situation and the people involved. And—when I finally stopped fretting—I realized that humility had carved out space in my mind and heart to pursue things far more significant than an ‘A’, a pat on the back, or the right to be right.

Humility is the way of Jesus. It is a path He has walked before us—one He will walk in and through us, if only we will let Him.

“Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”–Matthew 11:29 (CSB)

Father, 

Thank you for loving me enough to send Jesus to humble Himself, even to the point of death on a cross. When everything in me wants to be lifted up, give me grace to find a posture of humility so that Jesus can be glorified in my life. Help me to prefer others before myself and to take joy in doing so. Teach me to follow Jesus’ example. I want the kind of rest that only He can offer. Let your presence and power rush into the low places of my life, like water flowing from the mountain top to the valley. 

In Jesus name,

Amen