A Devil Shield

By Sara Gibson

Author of After the Cross August 30, 2001

God spoke to me one day and said, “Humility is a devil shield.”

What does that mean? It means that Satan doesn’t know how to penetrate humility because it is so contrary to everything that he is. So, if we can arm ourselves with true humility, we can better protect ourselves against all the wiles of the devil.

Most Christians don’t yet understand what true humility is. It is not weakness, and it is not a sense of somehow being inferior. You don’t have to develop an inferiority complex to be humble. The greatest of all beings is the humblest of all. Jesus is the example of true humility.

I’ve noticed that every time God speaks in His Word of resisting the devil, He also speaks of humility. The two go together.

Before James said, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” he said, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” And his conclusion was: “Submit yourselves therefore to God” or “Humble yourselves before God.” And to whom does He give it? The Amplified Bible renders the response at the end of James 5:6-7 as: “those who are humble enough to receive it.”

Peter also witnessed to this truth of the direct connection between humility and defeating the devil. First, he spoke of the need for humility (1 Peter 5:5-6). Next, he told us how to humble ourselves casting our cares about Jesus (1 Peter 5:7). Finally, Peter warned:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour …. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus … make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:8-10

When we allow pride to enter into our lives and we exalt self, there will surely be a fall (Proverbs 16:18-19; 29:23). Pride invariably brings on a fall. This fact was revealed most strikingly in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. When he decided that his own genius and ability had gotten him the kingdom, he received word (through the interpretation of a dream brought to him by Daniel) that he was about to lose everything. And Nebuchadnezzar did lose everything — even his sanity. Within a year after Daniel spoke to him, Nebuchadnezzar was wandering the fields like some wild animal, and he stayed that way until he recognized that God ruled and set whomever He would over the nations. When he humbled himself, he was restored (See Daniel 4). The sad thing is that Nebuchadnezzar had to learn humility the hard way.

Jesus is our example of true humility. He chose to humble Himself:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

That God would choose to do this for you and me is an awesome truth that should humble every one of us. What happened to Jesus as a result of His humility should be a lesson to us all as well:

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

Humility = promotion. Humility is never inferiority. If you have any feelings of unworthiness, you can know where they came from: the pit of Hell. True humility leads us to certain exaltation.

Most of us have not yet understood what true humility is, but we must learn. Although we may try to use many other methods against the enemy, humility is always our greatest defense against him.

Many years ago, when I first started in ministry, some people were saying some things about me that were not true. This angered me so that when I began praying about it, I actually spit at the devil. I felt so strange at that moment that I prayed, “Lord, what do You think about that?”

“When you did that,” He said, “it did not affect the devil at all. In fact, you were getting over into his way of accomplishing things. It is My Word in your mouth that will defeat the devil. He can’t flee far enough into the depths of Hell to get away from it. Humble your heart and I will give you victory over the devil.”

That word was as strong as anything I have ever heard from the Lord, and I have never been able to forget it. At first, what the Lord said about humbling my heart didn’t seem to make sense to me. Other people were hurting me, and I was the one who needed to humble my heart? Although I have now been studying the Bible for more than thirty years, it was only recently that I began to see and understand this truth clearly. Now, I am realizing more every day how very important humility is to our victory over the evil one.

After I began to learn about true humility, I found that one of the fruits of humility is honoring others. My humility must not only be before God, but also before men. When I began to honor others as the Word of God teaches, I was amazed at the result. Many tense situations were relieved, and I began to grow more rapidly in my spiritual life.

God’s Word presents us with many paradoxes: We must die to live. We must give to get. We must humble ourselves to be promoted. We must go down in order to go up. When someone wrongs us, we must turn the other cheek to him or her. We must forgive in order to be forgiven. The devil cannot break through this shield of humility.

Make the decision to be “clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5), and you’ll never be sorry. The very act of calling on God is prayer is an act of humility. When we call upon Him, we are saying, “Lord, we can’t do it without You.” And when we take that attitude, we suddenly find that we “can do all things through [Him]” (Philippians 4:13). (See also 2 Chronicles 7:14.)

If we want God to dwell among us, we must become those who know true humility:

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

This article is a condensed excerpt from Chapter 20 of After the Cross: Knowing Jesus in the Power of His Resurrection.