When pride creeps into our hearts, we don’t just have a devil problem. We have a God problem. God says that He actually will resist someone who has pride in their life:
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
1 Peter 5:5b-6When pride creeps into our hearts, we don’t just have a devil problem. We have a God problem.
The only way we can develop true freedom is learning to humble ourselves under the hand of God. Deliverance does not occur solely because we resist the enemy, but only when we first submit to God and then cultivate a life of walking humbly before Him. This is often a missing component that many try to skip over.
Getting Under God’s Authority
This process of humility sets us up under the authority of God. True spiritual humility, is all about submission, helping us to walk humbly under God and those He has placed in authority over us. In this journey, humility allows us to become moldable under God’s hand, allowing Him to form what is missing and heal what has been damaged.
The false humility that many show, where they beat themselves down and self-reject, is a counterfeit to true humility.
God has a never-ending supply of grace and empowerment for the humble. But when pride enters the picture, we can expect that flow can be stifled. God even says he hates a proud look,
“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look . . . (Proverbs 6:16-17).
God is more concerned about the inward heart, which shows His distaste for the work of pride in people’s lives. He is tuned into the attitude of our hearts and wants to know, in our brokenness, will we take the route of humility for healing or will we walk the avenue of the proud?
Common Signs of Pride
- Inability to admit weaknesses or areas of struggle.
- Very seldom taking responsibility for growth and change.
- Not very quick to apologize or repent to others.
- Presenting as someone who knows everything.
- Constant defense of self.
- Having no one with authority to speak into their life.
- Cannot be told what to do.
- Not teachable.
- Seldom asks for help.
- Takes themselves too seriously. Can’t laugh at themselves.
- Appear to have everything in life under control.
- Lacking in tolerance or patience for others’ ideas, problems or feelings.
- Unable to listen to others
- Quickly appears to “know it all” in your new-found truths, often prematurely.
- Sarcastic, caustic and biting in comments toward people they believe to be beneath them or behind them in life.
- Looks down at people who react negatively to their opinions or comments.
Is it time to break through pride and humble yourself?