My pastor, David Saathoff, often says that there is almost no problem that cannot be solved by taking a posture of humility. Darn it if he isn’t right about that!

If I journey through the day with a “I’m the king of the hill” mentality, having to win every argument, thinking I’m always right or that others’ perspectives don’t quite cut it, I’m going to find myself very alone at the end of the day. If I cling to my own preferences so strongly that I choke out anything that isn’t to my liking, I will miss the best opportunities to creatively engage with life. Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

A few weeks ago I traveled to Moldova with a group from my church for a mission trip. The journey there was, to put it mildly, an exercise in testing humility. After multiple flight delays, cancellations and rerouting, what was to have been about a 15 hour trip became a 60 hour expedition. On top of that our luggage didn’t get to us for another three days after our eventual arrival.

As events began to unfold that made it apparent this would not be an easy trip, I remembered what Dave said about problems being solved with a humble attitude. When I did that I began to focus much less on the circumstances around me and more on the people I was with. I used the time to deepen friendships I already had and establish new ones with people I didn’t know before. The result of all of that was the building of a great community of people that I hope served our friends in Moldova well.

There are endless opportunities to exercise humility. When I do, good things happen…always.

What about you? How will you take a posture of humility today?