Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness

'Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness' by Andrew Murray is a timeless Christian devotional classic that explores humility as the foundation of a deep and meaningful relationship with God. First published in 1895, the book draws inspiration from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, presenting humility not as weakness but as the greatest spiritual strength. Murray explains that true holiness begins when believers set aside pride, self-centeredness, and the desire for recognition, allowing God to work fully in their lives.

Throughout the book, Murray reflects on biblical teachings and practical examples to show how humility transforms a person's character. He encourages readers to embrace a spirit of dependence on God, reminding them that genuine faith grows through surrender, obedience, and trust. Each chapter invites quiet self-examination, helping readers recognize the subtle forms of pride that can hinder spiritual growth and replace them with a heart of gratitude, patience, and love.

Rather than offering complicated theology, Murray writes with warmth and clarity, making profound spiritual truths easy to understand and apply in daily life. His message remains relevant for modern readers who seek inner peace in a world that often celebrates ambition and self-promotion. By emphasizing humility as the pathway to holiness, joy, and lasting communion with God, the book inspires believers to cultivate a Christ-like spirit that reflects grace, compassion, and genuine service to others. It is a thoughtful and enduring guide for anyone longing to grow in faith and spiritual maturity.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was an amazingly prolific Christian writer. He lived and ministered as both a pastor and author in the towns and villages of South Africa. Some of Murray's earliest works were written to provide nurture and guidance to Christians, whether young or old in the faith; they were actually an extension of his pastoral work. Once books such as Abide in Christ, Divine Healing, and With Christ in the School of Prayer were written, Murray became widely known, and new books from his pen were awaited with great eagerness throughout the world.
He wrote to give daily practical help to many of the people in his congregation who lived out in the farming communities and could come into town for church services only on rare occasions. As he wrote these books of instruction, Murray adopted the practice of placing many of his more devotional books into thirty-one separate readings to correspond with the days of the month.
At the age of seventy-eight, Murray resigned from the pastorate and devoted most of his time to his manuscripts. He continued to write profusely, moving from one book to the next with an intensity of purpose and a zeal that few men of God have ever equaled. He often said of himself, rather humorously, that he was like a hen about to hatch an egg; he was restless and unhappy until he got the burden of the message off his mind.
During these later years, after hearing of pocket-sized paperbacks, Andrew Murray immediately began to write books to be published in that fashion. He thought it was a splendid way to have the teachings of the Christian life at your fingertips, where they could be carried around and read at any time of the day.
One source has said of Andrew Murray that his prolific style possesses the strength and eloquence that are born of deep earnestness and a sense of the solemnity of the issues of the Christian life. Nearly every page reveals an intensity of purpose and appeal that stirs men to the depths of their souls. Murray moves the emotions, searches the conscience, and reveals the sins and shortcomings of many of us with a love and hope born out of an intimate knowledge of the mercy and faithfulness of God.
For Andrew Murray, prayer was considered our personal home base from which we live our Christian lives and extend ourselves to others. During his later years, the vital necessity of unceasing prayer in the spiritual life came to the forefront of his teachings. It was then that he revealed the secret treasures of his heart concerning a life of persistent and believing prayer.
Countless people the world over have hailed Andrew Murray as their spiritual father and given credit for much of their Christian growth to the influence of his priceless devotional books.

Andrew Murray’s profound Christian classic, "Humility: The Beauty of Holiness," strips away the superficial layers of modern spirituality to expose the absolute bedrock of a genuine relationship with God. Written in the late nineteenth century by the renowned South African pastor and author, this brief but deeply penetrating book presents a radical thesis: humility is not merely one virtue among a list of desirable character traits, but rather the foundational grace upon which all other spiritual fruit is built. Murray argues that without true humility, all other virtues are inherently flawed and tainted by self-interest. He positions humility as the very essence of what it means to be a creature in relation to a Creator, and the defining characteristic of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, challenging readers to reevaluate the core motives of their own hearts.

The foundation of Murray’s argument lies in his understanding of the original relationship between God and humanity. He posits that the primary duty and highest glory of any created being is to be an empty vessel, entirely dependent on God for life, power, and goodness. Humility, therefore, is not a painful self-degradation or an exercise in forced self-loathing; it is simply the honest acknowledgment of reality. It is the creature taking its rightful place of absolute dependence before the Creator. When a person is truly humble, they realize they have nothing of their own to boast about, and that everything they possess—every breath, every talent, every moment of grace—is a continuous gift from a loving Father.

In stark contrast to this beautiful dependence stands the destructive force of pride, which Murray identifies as the root of all sin and the catalyst for the fall of both humanity and the angelic host. Pride is essentially the creature attempting to be self-sufficient, stepping out of its God-ordained dependence to claim glory and autonomy for itself. Murray forcefully argues that every sin, struggle, and sorrow in the human experience can ultimately be traced back to this original infection of pride. Because pride is the very antithesis of God’s nature, it creates an impenetrable barrier between the human soul and divine grace. The terrifying reality, according to Murray, is that pride can easily infiltrate even our most religious activities, turning our prayers, worship, and service into monuments to our own ego.

To remedy this catastrophic state, Murray points directly to the person and work of Jesus Christ, viewing the entire story of redemption as the restoration of lost humility. Christ’s incarnation was the ultimate act of self-emptying. He left the glory of heaven not just to teach or to perform miracles, but to perfectly model what a life of total, joyous dependence on the Father looks like. Murray highlights that Jesus repeatedly stated He could do nothing of His own accord, speaking only the words the Father gave Him and doing only the Father’s will. This, Murray insists, is the true secret of Christ’s power and peace: He was entirely devoid of self-will, offering Himself as a perfect, unresisting channel for God's life to flow through.

This divine humility was not just a theological concept for Jesus; it was the practical reality of His daily existence, culminating in the crucifixion. Christ’s willingness to suffer indignity, betrayal, and a shameful death without defending Himself is the ultimate expression of a life completely surrendered to God. Murray challenges his readers to recognize that salvation is not merely a legal transaction that secures a place in heaven, but an invitation to partake in the very life and nature of Christ. To be a follower of Jesus, therefore, means embracing His distinct brand of humility. It means stepping off the throne of one’s own life and allowing the mind of Christ to dictate every thought, reaction, and ambition.

Murray uses the early disciples as a powerful, relatable example of the struggle against the ego. Despite walking side-by-side with the incarnate Son of God, witnessing His miracles, and hearing His teachings, the disciples were constantly plagued by bickering and competition over who among them was the greatest. They possessed a genuine love for Jesus, yet their hearts remained thoroughly infected by pride. Murray uses this to demonstrate a sobering truth: mere exposure to religious instruction, or even earnest attempts at morality, cannot eradicate the deeply entrenched root of pride. It was only after the crucifixion broke their self-confidence, and the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, that the disciples were finally transformed from prideful men into humble servants.

One of the most piercing and practical aspects of the book is Murray’s insistence that our humility before God is definitively proven by our humility before other people. It is easy to feign a posture of lowliness in the quiet isolation of prayer, but the true test of our spiritual state occurs in the friction of daily relationships. How we react to criticism, how we handle slights, our willingness to serve unnoticed, and our ability to rejoice in the successes of others are the true barometers of our humility. If we harbor resentment, demand our rights, or feel easily offended, it is undeniable proof that the ego is still reigning on the throne of our hearts, regardless of our religious professions.

As the book approaches its climax, Murray addresses the inextricable link between humility and true holiness, a connection emphasized in the book’s subtitle. Often, earnest believers strive for holiness through rigorous discipline, intense study, or ascetic practices, only to become secretly proud of their spiritual achievements. Murray warns that any holiness that does not simultaneously deepen our sense of absolute nothingness is a dangerous counterfeit. True holiness is not about becoming spiritually elite; it is about becoming small. It is the process of the self decreasing so radically that only Christ remains visible. The holiest person is simply the one who is most acutely aware of their own inadequacy and most completely resting in God's grace.

Ultimately, Murray leads the reader to the inescapable conclusion that true humility requires nothing less than the death of the self. We cannot manufacture this virtue through our own willpower; in fact, trying to force ourselves to be humble is just another subtle manifestation of pride, as it relies on our own strength. Instead, we must consent to being crucified with Christ, willingly handing over our reputation, our desires, and our need for control. We must ask God to perform the surgical work of removing our pride, recognizing that this process may involve humiliation, failure, and the painful shattering of our self-image. It is only when we reach the end of ourselves that we can truly begin to live in the freedom of God.

In the end, "Humility" is a profoundly disruptive yet intensely comforting masterpiece. It shatters the illusions of self-made righteousness and calls the reader to a life of quiet, joyful surrender. Andrew Murray does not present humility as a heavy burden to bear, but rather as the ultimate liberation—the freedom from the exhausting demand to defend, promote, and elevate oneself. By embracing our rightful place as dependent creatures, we are finally freed to experience the fullness of God’s love and power. The book leaves the reader with the lingering, transformative realization that the path to true spiritual greatness is found only by walking downward into the beautiful, restful valley of humility.

Chapter 1 : Humility: The Glory of God’s Creation

The twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created everything, and it is for Your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
(Rev. 4:10-11)

God wanted one thing when He created the universe: to show in it the glory of His love, wisdom, and power. He meant for human beings to share in His perfection and blessedness as part of that creation. God wanted to reveal Himself in and through created beings by filling them to the brim with His own goodness and glory. But God did not give Adam and Eve some independent goodness for them to claim as their own apart from Him. No way!

God is ever living, ever present, and ever active. He upholds all things with His powerful Word. All things exist in Him. So the relationship of man to God could only be through continual, absolute, total dependence. God created by His power, and He must hold His creation together by that same power. We only have to look back to our origin to realize we owe everything to God. Our main goal, our highest good, and our only happiness—now and forever—is to offer ourselves to God as empty vessels that He can fill, to show His power and goodness.

God doesn’t give us life once and for all, and then leave. He gives us life moment by moment, with a constant working of His mighty power. Humility—the place of total dependence on God—is our primary duty and highest good. That’s just how the universe is put together!

So pride—the loss of this humility—is the root of every sin and evil. When did the devil and his angels start down that road of disobedience that led to them being cast down from the light of heaven into outer darkness? It was when they began to be focused on themselves. When the serpent injected the venom of his pride—the desire to be like God—into Adam and Eve, they, too, fell from the special place God had made for them. They dove headlong into all of the wretchedness you see their descendants in now. In all of heaven and earth, pride and exalting yourself is the gate to hell—and its greatest curse.

It is obvious, then, that nothing can be right again until our lost humility is restored. Humility is the original and only true basis of relationship a human being can have with God. Jesus came to bring humility back to earth, to make us sharers in it, and by it to save us. In heaven, He humbled Himself to become a man. The humility we see in Him, he possessed in Heaven. Humility brought Jesus, and Jesus brought humility, down to earth. Once He was here, “He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying” (Phil. 2:8). His humility gave His death its value, and so became our redemption. Now the salvation He offers us is nothing less than being joined to His life and death, His character and spirit. His own humility is the foundation of His relationship with the Father and His work to redeem us. He took our place and fulfilled our destiny by His life of perfect humility. His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility.

If our salvation is real, our lives should be stamped with the mark of being delivered from sin and restored to our place as God’s vessels. Our whole relationship to God and to other people must be marked by humility, through and through. Otherwise, how could we live in God’s presence, experiencing His love and the power of His Spirit? Without taking our place of dependence, we can’t have a lasting faith or love or joy or strength. Life will be full of ups and downs. Humility is the only soil where Christ-like character can take root. A lack of humility is the only explanation you need for every flaw and failure you have. Humility is not one of many good character traits; it is the root of all of them, because it places us in the right relationship with God and frees Him up to do all that He desires. God gave us the ability to think logically for a reason. If we can only see our absolute need for His command that we be humble, we will want to obey, with all our minds. But God’s people have not really understood His call to humility. Our minds have been dull to its importance.

Humility is not a thing we bring to God. It is also not a thing God gives to us. It is simply the realization of what nothings we really are, when we truly see how God is Everything, and when we clear out room in our hearts so that He can be everything for us. We have to understand that this realization is the only noble thing we can ever really think or do. We must make a choice, with our wills, minds, and emotions, to become empty vessels that God can fill with His life and glory. Then we will see that humility is simply acknowledging the truth about who we are and yielding to God His rightful place.

For true disciples who are pursuing holiness, humility should be the number one evidence of their righteousness. But how rare this humility is on our planet today! It may be that the teaching and example of those who are supposed to be leaders in God’s House has never reflected the emphasis He gives humility. This truth has been almost forgotten: although sin is a powerful motive for humility, there is a stronger one. This motive makes the angels in heaven and the Son of God Himself so humble. Here it is: the core of man’s relationship to God, the secret to blessing, is the humility and nothingness that leaves God free to be All.

Many Christians are probably just like me. We knew the Lord a long time without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, as they were of the Master. Humility doesn’t just “happen.” We have to want it. It requires faith, prayer, and practice. As we lean into God’s Word, we will see that Jesus gave His disciples clear and frequent teaching on this point. We will also see how slow they were to understand it.

From the start, let’s admit that nothing comes quite so naturally to us—and nothing is so hidden in our blind spots—as pride. That’s why it is so dangerous. Let’s realize that nothing but a determined and persevering seeking of God will open our eyes to see how lacking we are in humility and how feeble we are in obtaining it! Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus until our souls are filled with love and admiration for His humility. And let’s believe that, when we are broken down under a sense of our pride and realize our inability to get rid of it, that Jesus Christ Himself will give us this grace as a part of His wonderful Life within us.

Chapter 2 : Humility: The Secret of Redemption

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised Him up to the heights of heaven and gave Him a name that is above every other name.
(Phil. 2:5-9)

A tree grows from its own root. Through its whole existence, the tree lives with the same life that was in the seed that produced it. This truth can help us see why we need to be redeemed and how God has met that need.

The devil was thrown down from heaven because of his pride. His whole character is pride. When he hissed his words of temptation into Eve’s ear, his words dripped with the venom of hell. And when she listened and yielded her heart and will to the desire to be like God, knowing good and evil for herself, that venom entered her spiritual bloodstream and poisoned her life. Gone forever was the wonderful humility and dependence on God that would have guaranteed the everlasting happiness of the human race. Instead, human life became corrupted with the most terrible of all sin and curses, the poison of the devil’s own pride.

All of the wretchedness the world has seen began with that curse. Hellish pride—either our own or someone else’s—is responsible for all the misery we’ve experienced. All war and bloodshed among nations, all selfishness and suffering, all ambition and jealousy, every broken heart and bitter life, are the results of this same wicked pride.

It is because of pride that we need to be redeemed. If we are to grasp how desperately we need Jesus, we must see the terrible power that pride has over us.

The power that satan brought from hell and injected into human life is working daily—hourly—with incredible force throughout the world. People suffer from it. They fear it, fight against it, and try to run away from it. But they still don’t know where it comes from or why it is so strong. No wonder they have no clue about how to overcome it!

Pride’s power is in the spiritual realm, both inside and outside us. We need to confess it, hate it, and realize its satanic origin. Seeing pride for what it is may cause us to despair of ever overcoming it and removing it from our hearts. But it will also drive us to discover the supernatural power that is our only hope—the redemption of the Lamb of God. Our hopeless struggle against self and pride may seem even more hopeless when we think of the power of darkness that is against us. But eventually we will better realize and accept the power and life that are offered to us—the humility of heaven, brought into our hearts by the Lamb of God to cast out the devil and his pride.

If we need to look at Adam and Eve’s sin to understand the power of the sin that’s inside us, how much more do we need to know the power of the Second Adam, Jesus. He offers us a life of humility that is even more real and more lasting and more powerful than our pride. Our life is from and in Christ. We are to “let our roots grow down into Him,” for “we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.” (Col. 2:7, 19)

The life of God, which entered the human race when Jesus was born, is the root where we must stand and grow. The same power that worked in Jesus, from the manger to the empty tomb, can work daily in us. Do you know what our main need is? It is to know and trust that the life that has been revealed in Christ is now our life. His life is waiting only for our permission to gain possession and mastery over our whole being.

We need to know Christ! We must see Him clearly. We especially need a revelation of the root of His character as our Redeemer: His humility. What did Jesus’ birth mean, except that with heavenly humility He was emptying Himself and becoming one of us? What was His life on earth about, if it wasn’t taking the form of a servant? What was the cross, other than the most humble act the universe has ever witnessed? “He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.” And what was Jesus’ ascension to God’s throne, except humility crowned with glory? “God raised Him up to the heights of heaven and gave Him a name that is above every other name.”

In heaven, where Jesus was with the Father, in His birth, in His life, in His death, and on His throne, everything was and is humility. Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature. He is eternal love humbling itself, clothing itself with meekness and gentleness, to win and serve and save us. Love is what makes God the servant of all, and humility is what makes Jesus who He is. Even on the throne, He is the meek and lowly Lamb of God.

Humility is the root of the tree. You can tell it by looking at every branch and leaf and fruit. If the secret of Jesus’ life and death is humility, then the health and strength of our own spiritual lives will completely depend on our making humility our top priority, too. We must make humility the thing we admire about Him most, the main thing we ask of Him, and the one thing we see that we can’t live without.

Is it any wonder that the so-called “Christian life” is so often weak and fruitless, if the root of the Christ-life is neglected? Should we be surprised that the joy of salvation is so little felt, when the place where Jesus found it—the place of lowliness—is so little searched for? We must seek a humility that will settle for nothing less than dying to self. We must decide to give up trying to get men to honor us and seek the honor that comes only from God. We must learn to count ourselves as nothing so that God may be everything, that Jesus alone will be lifted up. Until we make humility our main joy and welcome it at any price, there is very little hope of a faith that will overcome the world.

How much that is called by Jesus’ name really demonstrates this humility? Think about the lack of love, the indifference towards others’ needs, the sharp and critical judgment of others that we are so quick to excuse. Think of the temper and irritation, the bitterness and loneliness that have their root in pride. Pride only seeks itself.

Devilish pride creeps in almost everywhere. What would happen if believers were to become permanently guided by the humility of Jesus? Oh, for the meekness of Jesus in myself and in everyone around me! We must honestly set our hearts on Jesus’ humility, and how far we fall short of it. Only then will we begin to feel what Christ and His salvation really are.

Do you believe in Jesus? Then study His humility! It is the secret, the hidden root of your redemption. Sink down into it more deeply day by day. Believe with your whole heart that Christ—God’s gift to us—will work in us, making us what the Father wants us to be.