This morning during my devotional time I was struck by these words from the book of James:
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
When we are truly humble, we begin to realize how much we need God. We may have plenty of "good" ideas, but we really have very little power to bring them to fruition. We must humbly rely upon God. When we admit our helplessness, we begin to see God as He really is-- the source of all good things. We become truly thankful for all that we receive from Him -- which is everything.
Too often, in our pride, we see God as our helper. Even in our prayers, we call upon Him to do what we want, what we think is best. Instead, in humility, we should be asking Him for the privilege of playing a small part in His plan. After all, Jesus Himself tells us:
""I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing." John 15:5
I'm trying to pray this way -- but it isn't easy. I want to open my heart to God and to others; to excise pride from my life, so that God's grace will abound. We're still in the season of Lent, a time for reflection and repentance, for fasting. Let's all spend some time fasting from pride. It's a worthy goal.
For mor about pride see:
We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza– Book Review
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges–Book Review
Wisdom and Humility
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