God Will Lift You Up
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today to give you thanks and to seek you. We thank you for all that you’ve done for us and provided for us. This morning as we read and study your word, please help our understanding. We love you and praise you.
READ:
“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” James 4:6
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10 (NIV)
REFLECT:
What really is the danger of being proud? After all, look at what I have accomplished. I’ve worked so hard, spent so many hours on this pursuit. The world tells me I earned it and I deserve it, so why not spend a little time with my pride feeling good about myself?
This kind of thinking should come with a large, blinking DANGER sign. Indulging in a little pride can seem so innocuous, but it would be good to remind ourselves of the danger of allowing even a little pride in ourselves. Selfish pride is not from God, it is from the devil and his only desire is to pull you away from your Heavenly Father. Satan cares about the flesh, but God deals in the spirit. Remember the iceberg analogy from Monday? God wants to look under the surface with you.
APPLY:
If you are proud of yourself and your accomplishments, then you are far from God. When trouble comes (and it will come) you are left to your own devices to lift yourself up. We all know how that goes and how that ends. There is no lift like the lift from our God. What is the ultimate reward today for spending it well? He will lift you up.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of this day. Help us to submit to you and walk humbly through it. We want to be more aware of your grace and the needs of others than of our own selfish desires. Capture all of our thoughts for you. Humbly we pray, amen.