Jeremiah 49:16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
Obadiah 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Many of us, at one time or another, have – like so many others written of in the Bible – learned the hard way that those that walk in pride he is able to abase (Daniel 4:37).
If we've read the Bible at all or listened to any good Bible preaching, we know that God hates pride. We know that pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). We know that Lucifer was kicked out of heaven because he exalted himself (Isaiah 14:12-14), and we know that he is a king over all the children of pride (Job 41:34).
In our opening passage, God describes the proud as those who exalt themselves as the eagles and make their nests among the stars, and He says that He will bring them down. Compare this promise to the one given in Isaiah 40:31, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
So those who exalt themselves like the eagles will be cast down to the ground, while those who humbly serve the LORD shall mount up with wings as eagles. From one end of the Bible to the other, this principle shines clear – God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6).
We understand that. We can see that. We're very familiar with the concept. But we need to ask ourselves today, as God sees our hearts, do we believe it? Do we put it into practice? Or are we foolish (Proverbs 30:32), are we delusional (Romans 12:3), are we self-deceived (Galatians 6:3) and full of pride?
You might not understand or accept it right now, but believe me, you need God's blessing. You need God's strength. You need God's grace. And you'll get nothing like while you continue to exalt yourself.
Brother David,
ReplyDeleteI am thankful to Jesus Christ for your ability and efforts in creating this blog of short devotionals. I pray for humility in my life and attitude but even when I am being humble I feel like I am doing that out of pride and to draw attention to myself. It is unfortunate that even when my Spirit desires to buffet the flesh, the flesh resists so much the more. I think I know how Paul felt when he wrote Romans 7: [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
[19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
[20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I "seem" to have the will but fail when it comes to the "perform". I hope to encourage you in this effort and hope you welcome the comments.
Yours in Christ
Brother Steven Rials