Memorise: But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. James 4:6
Read: Isaiah 14:12-15, 12 How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Bible in one year: 1st Samuel 21:23, Proverbs 7:10-27
According
to Proverbs 16:18, destruction is the major ‘dividend’ of pride. It is
interesting to note that pride was the root cause of the first rebellion
both in heaven and on earth. It started with Lucifer, the son of the
morning who later became the devil (Isaiah 14:12-15). He was a beautiful
Archangel until pride brought him down.
When
the devil discovered the easy way of falling into destruction (pride),
he started using it to bring people down to his fallen state. This he
successfully did with the first man and the first woman. The devil
deceived them, telling them that when they ate the forbidden fruit, they
would be as wise as God and they believed him.
“And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with herm and he did eat.”
Genesis 3:6
Unfortunately,
because of their quest for wisdom that will equate them with their
Maker, they fell, and the glory of the Lord which covered them departed
leaving them naked and empty. Pride disgraces its owner beyond measure.
The story of Pharaoh is a case study. It was pride that drowned his
hosts in the Red Sea. One would expect that after the ten terrible
plaques that God used to warn him, he would humble himself before the
Most High. Rather, he maintained what he initially said: “Who is the
Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2).
Before he knew it, it was too late for him to repent. To escape the
spirit of pride, you need to be genuinely born again so that the Spirit
of Jesus many dwell in you. If you are deadly a child of God, you need
to be sanctified and allow the mind of Jesus Christ dwell in you richly:
“Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ: Who bring in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…”
Philippians 2:5-7
My prayer for someone using this devotional is that pride will not destroy you, your destiny and your loved ones in Jesus’ name.
Action Point
Don’t
pray for God to humble you; this is dangerous. Rather, pray that the
gentle Holy Spirit should help you to voluntarily humble yourself before
the Lord, so that He can exalt you.
