The Way Up Is Down
Following God can be confusing. His ways often feel backward compared to everything we’ve been taught to pursue. While we strive to climb higher, God calls us to kneel lower. We want control, but He invites surrender. We long for strength, yet He tells us His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). We crave recognition, but He teaches that greatness is found in becoming the servant of all (Mark 9:35).
Everything in us gravitates toward comfort, influence, and self‑sufficiency. And yet, Scripture consistently shows that the people God normally used were not the most qualified, but the most willing.
This upside‑down reality is I put into the song “Go Low.” Its opening lines set the tone for the Kingdom Jesus invites us into: “I’ve learned to walk where I can’t see, The eyes of faith carry me.” Faith rarely feels like certainty. It feels like walking where you can’t see, trusting that God is leading even when the path makes no sense.
The song continues: “If I want to be great, I learn to serve… If I wanna grow, gotta lay it down.” This is the heart of the Kingdom: the way up is down.
Why Humility Feels So Hard
Humility sounds beautiful until we’re asked to practice it. Most of us want our sacrifices to be noticed. We want credit for our hard work. We want to feel prepared before stepping into anything significant. But humility challenges all of that. It asks us to trust God more than our own abilities. It asks us to serve even when no one sees. It asks us to obey even when the outcome is unclear.
Humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it is thinking of God and others more. It’s shifting the spotlight away from our reputation and toward His glory. And yes… it feels risky. It feels vulnerable. It feels like losing control.
But it is in humility where God’s power is most often revealed. It Go Low, I wrote: “The poor will be rich, the weak will be strong, The last will be first before too long.” We need to rewire our brain and trust that greatest thing we can do is become poor, weak, and last, so that God can show Himself through us.
Making Room for God’s Power
And, that’s the faith we hold onto. Humility doesn’t earn God’s favor; it creates space for His power. God already loves us fully. But our self‑reliance often blocks what He wants to do through us.
Humility doesn’t earn God’s favor; it creates space for His power.
I learned this in a surprising way while living in Turkey. A friend challenged the reliability of Scripture, insisting it had been changed. Normally, I would have thought through a careful response balancing the friendship with truth. But when his text came, I was sick with a fever and mentally foggy. All I could manage was a simple question: “If God is all‑powerful, don’t you think He can preserve the Scriptures He wants you to have?”
After sending it, I worried it might have come across as too blunt or even retaliatory. I worried that he wouldn’t hear my love for him, only an attempt to push back. But later he wrote back saying he had taken the question to the elders in his hometown, and they agreed with me. That one simple sentence, spoken in weakness, opened a door I could never have opened in my own strength. And it reached farther than I ever would have expected.
This is the Kingdom. God multiplies what we place in His hands, even when what we offer feels small. As the song says: “When I give the little in my hand, He multiplies more than I understand.“
Mary: The Model of Humble Obedience
No one embodies this upside‑down Kingdom more than Mary. She was young, unknown, and seemingly insignificant. Yet God chose her to carry His Son into the world. The cost was enormous. She would be misunderstood, rumors would spread, she would feel shame, she would be overwhelmed with the task of raising the Son of God, and eventually she would have the agony of watching her Son suffer and die.
But her response remains one of the greatest statements of faith ever spoken: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She didn’t understand everything. She didn’t feel qualified. But she said yes. And through her humility, God changed history.
This is the posture Go Low calls us into: “When I falter, I find His grace… When I let go of the plans I made, You open paths I could never pave.“
The Kingdom That Turns Everything Upside Down
Jesus repeatedly taught that His Kingdom operates differently than the world:
- “The last will be first.”
- “Whoever wants to be great must be your servant.”
- “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies…”
- “My power is made perfect in weakness.”
- “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
These aren’t isolated teachings; they’re the blueprint of the Kingdom. The world says, “Build yourself up.” God says, “Lay yourself down.” The world says, “Protect your future.” God says, “Trust Me with it.” The world says, “Make your own way.” God says, “Follow Mine.”
This is the path Jesus followed. God exalted Him to the highest place, giving Him the name above every other name. But this exaltation came because Jesus took on the role of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death (Philippians 2:6-11). If we want to share in the power of His resurrection, we must also become like Him in His death (Philippians 3:10).
“To really live, something’s gotta die — That’s the way to walk this life.“
When Obedience Doesn’t Make Sense
Following God often means stepping into things that look unreasonable. He may ask you to give when finances are tight. To speak when silence feels safer. To stay when leaving seems easier. To go when staying feels comfortable.
I’ve lived this many times. I’ve followed God into situations that looked financially irresponsible or professionally risky. I’ve worried about losing opportunities or making mistakes. But time and again I have chosen obedience to what I felt He was saying, and God revealed Himself in ways I never could have experienced otherwise.
Sometimes I ended up with less money. Sometimes I felt exposed or uncertain. But I always gained a deeper understanding of His faithfulness. Every act of surrender created space for God to move.
One particular step came in the middle of my sophomore year. I was making decisions for the following year, and as I prayed, I unexpectedly sensed God inviting me to transfer schools. I had no real reason to transfer. I was well‑connected where I was and things were going smoothly. But to give a quick end to the story, it was at the new school that I met my wife. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t followed that leading.
I believe that God always rewards our obedience. That’s why I put this line in the song, so I can always remember. “I can go low, ’cause You raise me up. Hands wide open — You fill my cup.”
God Never Wastes Surrender
One of our greatest fears as humans is losing control. We worry that if we surrender our plans, we will not be taken care of. Even as Christian, we secretly question whether God will take care of us. But Scripture encourages us that God is faithful and provides for His children.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God rewards those that seek Him. God sees every hidden sacrifice. He remembers every quiet yes. Nothing surrendered to Him is ever wasted.
Life may not be easy, but the promise is that God will be faithful to us. When we go low, He lifts us up. When we surrender, He provides. When we trust Him, He works in ways we could never orchestrate.
“Following You messes with my mind, But peace like this is hard to find.”
A Simple Invitation
If you’ve been striving in your own strength, maybe God is inviting you to a different way. Instead of asking, “How can I achieve more?” ask, “How can I make more room for God?” Instead of seeking recognition, ask, “How can God receive the influence?” Instead of clinging to control, ask, “How can I trust Him more deeply?”
The way up is down. The path to greatness in God’s kingdom is surrender. The doorway to life is being poor in spirit.
Listen to “Go Low.” Let it become your prayer. Let ground you in Go’s way of thinking. God is not looking for impressive people. He is looking for willing ones.
And when you go low, He will lift you up.
Lyrics to Go Low
[Intro]
He exalts the humble, hey—
He exalts the humble.
[Verse 1]
I’ve learned to walk where I can’t see,
The eyes of faith carry me.
If I want to be great, I learn to serve,
Grace pours out more than I deserve.
If I wanna grow, gotta lay it down,
That’s where the seed gets its crown.
When I give the little in my hand,
He multiplies more than I understand.
[Pre‑Chorus]
The poor will be rich, the weak will be strong,
The last will be first before too long.
To really live, something’s gotta die —
That’s the way to walk this life.
[Chorus]
I can go low, ’cause You raise me up.
Hands wide open — You fill my cup.
Down on the ground is where grace flows.
The way up is down — now you know.
[Verse 2]
When I falter, I find His grace,
When I’m still, I see His face.
When I let go of the plans I made,
You open paths I could never pave.
When I give love with nothing returned,
That’s when heaven’s fire starts to burn.
If I wanna find where life begins,
I’ll lay me down to rise again.
[Bridge]
Following You messes with my mind,
But peace like this is hard to find.
I gave up my rights to understand,
Now I find rest inside Your plan.
Your kingdom flips the world around,
I once was lost — now I am found.
[Outro]
The way up is down — now you know.