“When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame,
But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.”
Proverbs 11:2 amp
Pride is a seducing spirit that says, “look at me, and what I have done!” Pride is a snare to our soul who whispers lies to our heart. When we commit to pride, we have unknowingly committed to dishonor and shame. We walk through the deception of our vanities of self-importance right before we slip and fall. The only salve that brings healing and deliverance for being so foolish is to humble ourselves before God.
Years ago my husband and I were thrilled to be apart of a new ministry that was meeting in a small storefront in Destin, Fl. As we talked to our young Pastor and his assistant Pastor in our living room the Lord gave me a word for him: “Pastor Steve, I believe God has given me a word for you. He says, your ministry is going to grow at an unheard of phenomenal speed as you continue to put me first. But, for this work to be continually blessed by me, you must always stay humble before me.”
Short and simple. He has never forgotten his word and today his ministry is definitely Gods ministry. God has used him in powerful ways. He has been instrumental in branching out sister churches in various cities and overseas. He has training schools for ministers and schools for children. He was quickly forced to build a large building to accommodate all those who attend on Sat evenings and twice on Sundays. His sons have married, left home and began other churches in other cities. He gives God all the glory and stays humble.
Being humble means; first giving God all the glory and honor. Humility gives honor to others, esteeming them higher than ourselves and thinking of them first. We honor God first, then others.
Without fail, success always follows a humble heart because they are continually blessed by God. This does not mean they are without trials, but they rise above the fray with confidence in the Lord and become the Overcomer they are called to be. They think and move in faith as The Holy Spirit walks them through.
People gravitate towards a humble person. Their humility is like the pull of a magnet. The opposite of humility is pride, selfishness and fear of man. I see it as the two sides of a magnet. We have the one side that sticks together that are positive and the negative side that repels each other.
Our discernment becomes an alarm when we hear pride and self-importance talk. We begin to resist and repel the words. This is not to be confused with godly confidence vs prideful arrogance. When we hear the words of a humble heart we become inspired, energized and magnetized towards their loving and godly nature.
The idolatry of pride is a selfish ambition that alienates Gods love. It is easy to love those who love us, but what about those who disagree with our views, our plans? Our doctrine? Our beliefs? What about those who are blinded to the truth and still walking in darkness? Our Savior ate and drank wine with the Tax Collectors and Prostitutes. The religious hypocrites called him a glutton and a wine bibber. They were filled with pride and jealousy.
Pride cannot love.
What if Jesus the son of God had said, “Me first?”
He put everyone of us before himself when he laid his life down for us. In putting himself last; he became the first man to ever be resurrected and seen by over 500 witnesses as he walked and taught among those who believed he was Lord. Today, he is still holding the door open for you to walk through.
As we point our fingers at others sins are we unable to see the logs of pride in our own eyes? Are we in danger of being like the religious people in Jesus day?
Would you sit with the Tax Collectors and Prostitutes and eat and drink as he did today? Yes? No? Why not?
All our blessings come from God. He blesses us day in and day out. The blessing to study and pray before every day. To work, is a gift from God. If you are able to work, you are blessed by God. We are called to care for what He has given to us. As we are faithful with the small things, God is always faithful to increase our responsibilities. If we declare we are going to do something, let your faith be an example of your love. And, when we “do a job well done” and are praised for it, give all the glory and honor to God who enabled you to do it in the first place. Our steps, our minds, our hearts and our hands were guided and directed throughout the whole task. Put down any slight seed of puffy pride that begins to swell up your heart and replace it with an overwhelming gratitude of thankfulness and humility.
Only when we be rid of pride, can we hear from heaven. When we resist what the world says, and fear God instead of man we will hear from heaven.
Chiseling off all pride and self-importance can be physically painful sometimes and if that is what it takes to get rid of our egos, we will be walking through that trial. Once the Holy Spirit begins to do a lifetime of cleaning in your heart, he won’t stop until, “You see Jesus as he is and be like him.”
Lets pray:
We praise you Heavenly Father and we want to bless you in all our ways and give you thanks for continually equipping us to do the work. We thank you for your word, your guidance and instruction.We cherish your love. We thank you for your continual shower of blessings. We give you all honor. Help us to magnify your character today and recognize your hand through everything we can see and through those we come in contact. Clean up any seeds of pride and self-importance inside of us and replace them with your generous love. Your word says if we refuse to be humble, you will humble us. We choose to be humble Lord. We thank you for all your mercies and the power of your grace. We choose to depend upon your ways and not our own. Thank you Father. In your son Jesus we pray, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment