The Road That Led Me to Walk Humbly With God

Frank Wible
Jul 15
3 min read

Jake Whitman had always been a man of drive. From the outside, he was the picture of success: clean-cut, confident, and climbing the corporate ladder with impressive speed. By age thirty-five, he was already a regional director, known for his assertiveness and sharp decision-making. But behind closed doors, Jake was battling a hidden arrogance and a quiet hunger for more — more recognition, more control, more praise.

Frank Wible Man in a suit works on a laptop in a modern office. Desk lamp provides light. Background shows large windows and a blurred cityscape. — Jake had everything — except peace.

He called it “leadership,” but it was really pride in disguise. He ran over people in meetings, dismissed feedback, and avoided any role that didn’t elevate him. Church was still part of his routine, but mostly for image. He loved when people said, “That Jake, he’s a strong Christian leader.” He loved it too much.

It all started to crack the day he was called into HR. A conflict with a subordinate had escalated and gone public — emails, comments, power plays. He never expected it would cost him his job. But it did. And when the dust settled, no one came to defend him. Not the coworkers he ignored. Not the church members he kept at arm’s length. And certainly not God, it seemed.

Jake sat in silence for weeks, nursing the humiliation. No title. No status. No plans. Just long days alone in a quiet apartment and a growing ache in his chest. The verses he had skimmed for years now stared back with weight. One morning, he read Micah 6:8 and it wrecked him: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” He had done none of those things. So he prayed!

That verse became a mirror. He saw every injustice he’d excused. Every person he’d belittled. Every corner he’d cut. But it didn’t crush him — it opened him. Jake didn’t need another leadership book. He needed a new heart. He fell to his knees, weeping for the first time in years, and whispered, “God, show me how to walk humbly with You.”

Frank Wible Man serving food to a smiling man in a hat at a buffet. People in line, warm lighting, positive atmosphere. — He found joy not in leading — but in serving.

God answered — not with a booming voice, but with quiet instructions. Jake got involved in the church’s community kitchen. At first, it felt beneath him. But over time, the conversations at the food line became holy ground. Listening to the homeless, praying with single dads, laughing with volunteers — he began to feel truly alive for the first time.

Months turned into years. Jake never went back to corporate life. Instead, he became a mentor for men coming out of addiction, using his management skills to build them job pathways. He married a woman who’d once come through the shelter. They adopted two children. His name was no longer in lights — but his heart was full of something far better.

Jake’s greatest lesson was simple: God wasn’t impressed by résumés. He was moved by repentance. The Kingdom of God didn’t need more bosses — it needed more servants. The lower Jake went, the more clearly he saw the face of Christ.

Now when Jake hears someone struggling with identity, ego, or direction, he gently points them to Micah 6:8. He doesn't preach — he just shares what happened to him. “The most freeing day of my life,” he says, “was the day I stopped performing for the world and started walking humbly with God.”

There’s no applause when you serve quietly. No awards for humility. But Jake wouldn’t trade it for anything. Because in that hidden life — in the quiet obedience — he found what he was truly created for.

How are you walking humbly with God?