- "But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God." 2 Chronicles 26:16
- "In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Psalm 10:4
- "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2
These are just a few of many verses about the downside of pride and it's interference in a relationship with God. I have wrestled with pride before, moments where God would get me through something tough and I thought I could take it from there all by myself. Moments where I thought I didn't need God. Moments where I didn't even realize I was walking on my own because I thought I knew what to do. So what is the opposite of pride? Humbleness and humility. These qualities say that our confidence is found in Christ alone. It says, "I can do nothing without God, I need God with me every day and every moment". Scripture says of humbleness and humility:
- "In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." 1 Peter 5:5-6
- "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5-8
Christ-like humility is so different from how the world says we should approach our view of ourselves. The world says that we need to focus on ourselves, but Jesus says that we need to focus him and on others more than ourselves. Pride says, "I can do anything I want, I don't need God or anyone else", Humility says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)".
God is such an amazing teacher, and I just had to chuckle when I realized that God was teaching me this lesson the day before I had surgery on my shoulder, causing me to now be limited in the things I can do. It's a very humbling position to be in when you need to ask for help to do daily things, and I'm thankful to be put in a position to see God move when I'm submitted physically and spiritually to Him. God also showed me how important it is to pray for a humble man to be my husband and for a marriage that is filled with Godly humility and grace. And God has shown up, providing me with peace and a healthy mindset throughout this season of physical healing in my life, while also showing me ways to be a blessing to others even in my situation. I hope that we would all turn from our pride and humble ourselves before God with every area of our lives so that we may see Him move mountains for us. When our confidence is centered on Christ we can say, "Because of my relationship with the lover and savior of my soul, I know that I will see God's glory!"
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