Don't Be Too High to Come in Low
“Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:6 ❤️
Have you ever thought to yourself:
“Wow I’m pretty good at this” or
"Started from the bottom, now we're here"
“Whoa! I look so cute or handsome in this picture, gotta post it on the gram and show the world how good-looking I am, you know?” 🤳🏻
While no one ever admits they are ever prideful, we all have fallen into this dangerous trap in our lifetime. Unconsciously we think higher about ourselves than we ought to. Without the proper perspective of truth, pride can lead us to disobedience, rebellion, and ultimately destruction.
Pride desensitizes your ability from hearing the voice of God.
Instead of following God’s instruction, many fear about what others say or think. Pride leads people to rely more on their own strength and ability instead of trusting in the Holy Spirit. King Saul for example disobeyed God’s instruction by offering an unlawful sacrifice when he was supposed to wait for Samuel the prophet to offer the sacrifice to God. (1 Samuel 13)
The Bible also shares how King Saul disobeyed God’s instruction the second time by not completely destroying their enemy, the Amalekites. Instead, he spared the life of King Agag, and took the enemy’s sheep and oxen to offer it to God. What one may think was a pleasing offering to God can actually result in a fatal disobedience to His instruction.
“So Samuel said:
‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.’ ”
1 Samuel 16:22, 23
Pride dismisses God’s anointing and approval over your life.
“Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1
In that same chapter, we see how the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit is troubling him. Even though Saul was still positioned as King, the Lord has taken off His hands over him and anointed David, the future king of Israel.
All of us are not immune to pride because we were born into this world as sinful and selfish human beings.
But the good news is there is a cure for it!
The cure to pride is humility. Humility however does not come naturally.
Why then should we live a humble life before God and man?
1. Following the Example of Jesus Christ
None of us ever experienced being born in a manger before right? A manger is an open box where horses and cattle eat their food from. Now imagine the Son of the living God with all the glory surrounding him being born in a very low and abominable setting. You can’t get lower than that. Yet Jesus obeyed his Father and did exactly what the Father said, even to the point of death.
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8
2. The Rewards of Humility
“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4
Who does not want these 3 wonderful rewards from the Lord? I do!
Did you know that it’s better to humble yourself before the Lord rather than wait for God to humble you? I learned it the hard, personal way HA. Nonetheless, I am very thankful because those humbling seasons of my life were the foundation that reminds and keeps me grounded even to this day.
The more humble you become before the Lord, the more God will exalt you as His beloved son and daughter. Another verse says that pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. (Proverbs 29:23) Key takeaway: do not let pride override your life unless you want to experience humiliation instead of honor.
How to Guard Your Heart Against the Trap of Pride?
1. The Power of Confession
Confess your sins to God and repent. If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Whenever I confess to God how I’m starting to feel egoistic, prideful, or independent of Him, I noticed the Holy Spirit began to embrace me with His love, mercy, and humility. Through my confession, I acknowledge my weakness and my need for His help to cut off any weed of pride inside of my head and heart.
2. Praise & Worship (Giving Thanks at All Times)
This is my favorite one! Praising and worshiping God at all times is one of the spiritual weapons we can use to shift our attention from ourselves to God. The skills, talents, blessings, gifts, successes, and anointings from God were never given so that you can have a big head and feel good when others compliment you. Lol. 🤪 May the praises of people not end inside your head, rather give thanks and praise God for using someone like you to be an instrument for His glory.
3. Allowing Trusted Accountability to Correct You
Having a couple of brothers and sisters in Christ that I can be honest and vulnerable to has given me the chance to grow humbly as a person. Just like when driving a car we need two side mirrors to see our blindspots, you also need some people who love you enough to correct and watch the areas you are incapable of seeing for yourselves.
It’s true how the Holy Spirit will convict you when the seed of pride starts to creep into your life, but God also uses people closest to you to keep you humble too. Listen to counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, so that you may be wise in the time to come. (Proverbs 19:20)
4. Asking the Lord to Refine You as Pure Gold
Warning: this is for the brave-hearted. The moment you ask the Lord to refine you, get ready to feel the burn. Being in the furnace of fire is the only way to rid you of any impurities from producing pure gold. Letting the Holy Spirit bring up anything that does not please Him shows authentic humility and submission to whatever He longs to do in our life. It is no longer “I” who sits on the throne of my heart, rather it’s King Jesus who reigns over my feeling, desire, thought, and will.
There will be times when the Holy Spirit invites me to go lower, to the point of total surrender and submission. Sometimes I would even cry “God how much lower do you want me to go? Can’t you see that I’m humiliated, embarrassed, and rejected already?” 💔😭
But the more I learn to humble myself to His will and desire for my life, the greater the blessing, favor, and anointing I get to witness in my personal life. In other words, God is teaching me to humble myself and obey Him to the point of death.
Death to my own flesh, will, desire, dreams, and aspiration, on a daily basis.
Do you remember how God uses the donkey (a symbol of service) to carry him to enter Jerusalem in the book of Matthew 21? Well, that story illustrates how everything we do must also come from a place of humility and servanthood.
Would you like to receive the heart of a servant? It may not come naturally, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, it can be done intentionally.
May we never ever forget that Jesus deserves ALL the glory, honor, and praise; we are simply vessels, a carrier of His glory. 🔥❤️👑
To reflect and to love,
Sharon