BREAKTHROUGH PRIDE
But He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:6-7 (NLT)
Have you ever noticed the thing God resists? The thing He opposes is pride. The number one obstacle to people coming to faith in Jesus is pride. In a culture that loves strength, independence and individuality, the Gospel is a threat because only the poor in spirit can make their way to God. The problem with pride is that most people aren’t even aware they have it. Tim Keller said this: Pride is the carbon monoxide of sin. It silently and slowly kills you without you even knowing. When I was walking through a difficult situation, my mentor said this phrase: Bryan, humiliation would hurt a lot less if we were more humble. I didn’t like it when he said it, and I still don’t, but it stuck with me. He said Humility allows us to say things like, “I don’t know.” Humility makes you more interested in others than always trying to be interesting. Humility allows you to celebrate others’ successes as much as your own. Humility will ask for help. These things, for most of us, are things we struggle with.
Pride will kill the life of God quicker than anything. The moment pride walks into the room, God walks out. Humility is really about self-forgetfulness. Have you ever been so busy you’ve forgotten to eat? It doesn’t hit you until later that night. Similarly, humility allows us to walk into a room and see others. It will enable us to forget about our needs and insecurities. It allows us to take our eyes off ourselves and place them on God and others. This is where peace comes from, and this is where power is. If you need to grow in humility (and we all do), just start by focusing on God and others. After a while, you will find that one day, you won’t even be aware of your thoughts and how you are being received. Humility will free you up to truly see Jesus because there is room in your heart and mind for humility. Humility will also allow you to truly love others because your heart will be free to do so. Draw near to God today; His humility will fill you if you lay down your agendas. Let Him have His way!
APPLICATION: Get your eyes off yourself and onto God and others today.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit to help you truly lay down your life. Ask Him to allow you to see people, and Jesus, like you have never done before. Ask Him to help you die to yourself so you can truly live unto Him! This is freedom!
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?