Hello everyone.
In this blog post, I will be sharing some encouraging thoughts regarding what God can do in the lives of humble people. I hope that all of you will find your hearts encouraged and strengthened by these beautiful thoughts.
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I can see very clearly that pride is truly a terrible enemy. Pride causes us to depend upon and worship ourselves. In order for God to work freely in our lives, we must surrender all self-dependence and self- worship.
I’d like to go through some scriptures that illustrate our options: the option to depend on and worship self, and the right and better option, which is to depend on and worship God.
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
When we are proud, we set ourselves up for destruction. When we are self-sufficient and unteachable, we are set up to fail.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.” Isaiah 30:15-16 (KJV)
These verses reveal how ridiculous self-dependence really is. In these verses, we see that God is offering His people “returning and rest” and “quietness and confidence.” Instead, they choose to “flee upon horses” and “ride upon the swift.” God honors the free-will of His people, but lets them know “…therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.” Isaiah 30:16 (KJV)
In Zephaniah 3:11-12, I see an account of God purifying and redeeming His people. I’m highlighting the sections that specifically deal with God removing pride and replacing pride with humility.
“In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.” Zephaniah 3:11-12 (KJV)
As I have been reading these verses recently, this is what God has impressed my heart with:
“…for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.” Zephaniah 3:11 (KJV)
I am asking God to take away the pride in my heart, the pride that others may actually rejoice in, and to give me full humility while serving Him. I don’t want any pride in my heart-including pride associated with serving God (I do want self-respect which is different than pride).
“I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.” Zephaniah 3:12 (KJV)
My prayer is that God would make me into a person who fully depends on and trusts in Him.
I am also encouraged by the apostle Paul’s testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (KJV)
Paul had some kind of disability, and he came to understand that God was using this disability to help him to stay humble. Paul asked the Lord three times to remove the disability from him, but God’s loving and wise response was; “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. ” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)
“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (KJV)
Paul understood that depending on Jesus is the secret for true strength. What he learned goes right along with what we have seen in verses we have visited previously in this blog post.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…” Isaiah 30:15 (KJV)
“I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.” Zephaniah 3:12 (KJV)
I can clearly see that a life of humility and dependence on God is the best life that can be lived. I want to invite all of us to walk humbly with God and to watch what He will do in our lives.
Blessings and courage.
Learn and Grow 4ever 