Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
People of God, there is no level God will not go to when it comes to helping you spiritually grow. His patience to see us change is greater than our stubbornness to change. If we fail to learn a lesson, God will allow or arrange another circumstance to teach us. The question is: are you ready to learn? Or more importantly, are you humble to learn? Because the greatest enemy of growth is our pride.
An example of pride is coming before God with a question but not being willing to submit to the answer – especially if it does not align to our own plans or will. For instance, you pray and ask for God’s will concerning a relationship but you have already gone too far in exchanging promises. Or you ask God to bless a business proposal instead of first asking what God has to say about the idea. Or maybe you have committed financially to travelling to another country and only then ask God to bless the journey without being willing to know God’s opinion about your plans.
When you ask a question, but you have already concluded on your view of the answer, if you come to God and it doesn’t manifest in the way you expect, rather than learning a lesson, you often end up pointing the finger, casting blame. This is an expression of pride – pride that robs us of the sensitivity to recognise what God is teaching us.
It takes humility to learn. Learning to submit to His ways, not ours: to His agenda, not ours; to His plans, not ours; to His purpose, not ours.
Prayer: Holy Spirit of humility, forgive my pride. I choose today to humbly submit to Your will. Help me to learn what I need to know to grow into who You are calling me to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.