"Don't be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones."
Proverbs 3:7-8
Today's devotional verse was a reminder for me...a reminder to remain humble. When we forget who we are in Christ, allowing our own pride and wisdom to go to our head, then we are setting ourselves up for failure and His divine discipline.
Matthew 23:12 is one of my favorite Scriptures. It says, "But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Pride is sin. Pride lead to man's downfall. Pride is thinking of oneself better than others, exalting yourself over others, living for yourself, and demanding your way over God's. There is no justification for pride if we follow Jesus. Yet there are so many who follow Christ who hang on to pride. Pride is a human thing and sometimes difficult for us to recognize within ourselves. But in order to wholly experience Christ, we must place our pride at the foot of the Cross!
To date, I've written several blogs concerning pride and humility. I see it in myself at times...and despise it. I see it in others as well...and despise it. Pride dictates its own way, divides Believers, and corrupts hearts. And worst of all, because pride is "all about me," it causes major interference between us and God. Psalm 138:6 says, "Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,but he keeps his distance from the proud." God hates pride. So He distances Himself from it. And if you are full of yourself, then there is no room for Him anyway! But not only will God distance Himself, so will others. No one likes being around someone who is prideful. Sometimes we may not even recognize the pride in ourselves, but others do. It may take some serious soul-searching honesty on our part to recognize our own pride, confront it, repent it, and eradicate it. But with God's help, we can overcome.
We can make a concious choice to be humble. We can make a concious choice to surrender our pride to Christ - each and every minute of the day if we must!
The benefits for remaining humble are eternal. But so are the consequences of pride.
"For the Lord delights in his people;he crowns the humble with victory." (Psalm 149:4)... "The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord.The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 29:18) and "The humble will see their God at work and be glad.Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged." Psalm 69:32
Grace and peace, friends! Happy Friday!
In His Love, Cathy
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