Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right!

November 6, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right!

This Week’s Message: Choose Humility over Pride!

We have all had our moments at one time or another when we have struggled with pride in some way. You allow your head to get a little big because of a compliment that was given to you, the amount of money that you make, the way that you look, and several other reasons that can cause someone to exude conceit.

The problem is, when a person is so filled with arrogance they do not have any more room in their hearts for anyone or anything else. It causes major conflicts in relationships with your spouse, your children, family members, and friends. It’s as if there is a sheet covering your eyes making it impossible for you to see your own actions.

You are never wrong, you will never apologize, there is never any spiritual growth, and you will hold a grudge until the day that you die. Does any of that sound like characteristics of a person that is following the Lord? God will always keep notes on the condition of our hearts, 1 Samuel 16:7.

God is love (1 John 4:16), so in order for believers of Jesus Christ to radiate His love to others we have to be able to remain humble. There will be times when you will have to hold your tongue, you will have to let the offenses go, and you will have to love past their hate; but it will be very difficult for you to do that if all you care about is yourself.

This week take an inventory of your level of pride. Do you put yourself above everyone and everything else including God? Do you feel like you should never be the one to apologize since you “never do anything wrong?” Do you feel like you are better than everyone else and nobody can get on your level? If you’re answering yes to these questions than consider taking a look at your heart to see if it is filled with pride.

If so, ask the Lord to give you help in overcoming this negative emotion that God frowns upon. I am going to give you some Scriptures that you can marinate on that can help you overcome that spirit of pride!

Isaiah 2:12

“For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low—“

One thing that angers the Lord more than anything is pride. Satan himself was cast out of heaven because he thought that he could be above God, Isaiah 14:12-15. When a person is filled with egotism, he cannot be filled with anything else including God. It is very difficult for Him to use someone that is self-centered, self-absorbed, and arrogant. Why? In order for a person that wants to follow the Lord and do His will for their lives, they can’t have that mindset that “it’s all about me, me, and me!

Isaiah is making it plain in this verse of Scripture that everything that is lifted up will be brought low by God. Think back to your own personal life, have you had moments when your ego was a little bit too puffed up for your own good? If so, I am pretty sure that you were given a check in your spirit by the Holy Spirit letting you know that these characteristics will lead you away from God.

In order for us to love like Christ loves us, we cannot put ourselves above Him. We have to be submissive to His Word as we allow it to renew our minds, Romans 12:2. Once you think that you can do everything by yourself without the Lord’s help and you consistently refuse to lean on Him for all of your needs, He will let you do it on your own. That is a very dangerous place to be.

If you are saturated with arrogance:

You will struggle to hear when the Lord is guiding you.
It will be difficult to love others wholeheartedly.
You will have trouble spreading the true Gospel of Jesus Christ since humility is a huge characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
You will find it challenging to transform your heart into traits resembling the fruits of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law,” Galatians 5:22-23.

These are some of the areas that you will struggle in if you are dealing with a spirit of pride. One of the things to note in the verse of Scripture that I have highlighted from the book of Isaiah is where the Lord states, “…and it shall be brought low,” Isaiah 2:12. In other words whatever raises itself up with conceit, egotism, vanity, or haughtiness will be brought back down some notches in one way or another. It doesn’t say might or maybe, the Lord is making it clear when He states, “shall.”

If you are a believer of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth, John 16:13. He will let you know when your head is getting a little too inflated. It is for our own good because often times we don’t even realize it.

Proverbs 18:12

“Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.”

Looking at this Proverb written by King Solomon, we can conclude that a pride filled person’s heart will lead to destruction. The mentality that you don’t need God’s help to get you through life is a sure way for you to get on a road headed straight for disaster. I can’t imagine trying to get through the trials and tribulations that this world brings without the Holy Spirit guiding, strengthening, and directing me to victory.

Matthew 22:36-37 states, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The Lord is letting us know in these verses of Scripture that the number one instruction for every Christian is to Love God completely. That is something that is going to be very difficult to do if you are consumed with yourself.

I have seen people that hold on to grudges for years and if you were to ask them why they are upset with the person they are harboring unforgiveness towards, half the time they don’t remember. All they know is someone did them wrong and they are not going to let it go. That is the pride within them that is preventing them from humbling themselves enough to resolve an issue that was probably insignificant to begin with.

They are failing to realize that letting go and giving it to God is going to benefit them the most. This is another reason that the Lord despises pride; it is keeping His children in a state of bondage. We have to remember, if we are unwilling to forgive, neither will our father in heaven forgive us, Matthew 6:15.

1 Peter 5:5

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Here Peter is giving another example of how the Lord feels about pride, He resists the proud. The Lord detests pride because it is one of the number one barriers between a prideful person and God. It is an extreme hindrance for a believer having a true authentic relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We can also see in this verse of Scripture that Peter is telling us to be clothed or covered in humility for one another. In other words you don’t think that you are better than everyone else, you are open to constructive criticism, and you value the opinions of others. When you can live a lifestyle of humbleness, the Lord’s promise is that He will give you grace.

A heart filled with humility will be taught wisdom (Proverbs 11:2), gains honor (Proverbs 29:23), and is lifted up by God’s mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6). The Lord can use you in a mighty way if you are willing to be completely submissive to His will for your life! In order for us to get to that place we have to keep Proverbs 3:5-6 in mind, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

When we can go to the Father and ask Him for guidance in everything that we do and put our complete trust in Him instead of in ourselves, He will direct our paths. I know I have tried to do things my way before I got saved and even after and my plans never work out like they are supposed to. The moment that I let go and allowed God to truly take control over my life, everything started to fall right into place like puzzle pieces.

This week challenge yourself to give God those areas that you are still trying to hold onto, the areas of your life that are still not fully submitted to the Lord. When you can give Him all of your worries, cares, burdens, and decisions, you will have less stress and live a more fulfilled life overall. To live is Christ and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21.

If you’ve missed some of the previous Positive Weekly Messages, no worries I am linking them below:

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! October 30, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! October 23, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! October 17, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! October 10, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! October 2, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 24, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 19, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 12, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 6, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! August 28, 2022

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! August 22.2022