And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12
God promises to dwell “with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble” (Is. 57:15). A key determining factor for personal revival is humility.
Pride is seeking independence from God. The result of pride is always rebellion, disaster, grief and sorrow.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus talks about a certain rich man who arrogantly boasted, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry.’” Do you notice how many times this rich man said “I” and “my”?
In a certain sense, he was probably a good man. He must have been sensible, respectable, smart, prudent and a good manager. Just look at the crops he harvested! In our contemporary world, he could well be a churchgoer, an elder or even a benefactor sitting on the finance committee. Yet, Jesus called him a “fool.” And the essence of his foolishness was that he acted as if he were independent from God. God was never in the equation of his balance sheet.
That rich man didn’t take into account that he depended on God for his daily breath. That he depended on God for seed to bring forth a harvest. That he depended on God for his health and strength. And basically, for everything in his life! He was a fool because he didn’t see his dependance on God and he didn’t acknowledge God. The root of his sin was pride.
You need to remember today that your life is dependant on God. The key to continual personal revival is humility. The usual danger of God blessing a Christian is that the person becomes lifted up by the boastful pride of life. Make a decision not to be proud today!
God promises to dwell “with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble” (Is. 57:15). A key determining factor for personal revival is humility.
Pride is seeking independence from God. The result of pride is always rebellion, disaster, grief and sorrow.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus talks about a certain rich man who arrogantly boasted, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry.’” Do you notice how many times this rich man said “I” and “my”?
In a certain sense, he was probably a good man. He must have been sensible, respectable, smart, prudent and a good manager. Just look at the crops he harvested! In our contemporary world, he could well be a churchgoer, an elder or even a benefactor sitting on the finance committee. Yet, Jesus called him a “fool.” And the essence of his foolishness was that he acted as if he were independent from God. God was never in the equation of his balance sheet.
That rich man didn’t take into account that he depended on God for his daily breath. That he depended on God for seed to bring forth a harvest. That he depended on God for his health and strength. And basically, for everything in his life! He was a fool because he didn’t see his dependance on God and he didn’t acknowledge God. The root of his sin was pride.
You need to remember today that your life is dependant on God. The key to continual personal revival is humility. The usual danger of God blessing a Christian is that the person becomes lifted up by the boastful pride of life. Make a decision not to be proud today!
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