Word for the Day June 17
By: Evangelist Cascille
Hammack
"A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble
in spirit will retain honor." Proverbs 29:23
A prideful heart that leans on its own understanding
and not upon the Lord is dangerous. You can be sure a fall will soon follow. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
was full of pride. The Lord was so displeased with him that he allowed him to lose his mind. His sanity was
not restored until he honored God. "At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes to heaven,
and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever."
Daniel 4:34. The Lord even restored his honor and splendor and he became even greater than before after he humbled
himself. He proclaims in Daniel 4:37, "Now, I Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the king of
Heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to
humble." Sometimes pride is not as obvious as it was in his case. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "...The
Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
In the list of six things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16, the very first one listed is haughty eyes. James 3 discusses
two kinds of wisdom. James 3:13 says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by
his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition
in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but
is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every
evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive,
full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."
Humility is a first step in coming to know the Lord. In your heart you must admit that you do not have any of
the answers. You must be truly sorry for all of the ways you have offended Him. You must humble yourself
and die to yourself completely acknowleging that because you are so imperfect He died and shed His blood for you so you would
not pay the penalty for all the wrong you have done. If you still think you can do it independently, He gives everyone
the right to roam and he will turn you over to your own desires and to death. You first must see your need for Him.
Maybe you have prayed this before and have strayed from Him and need to rededicate your life to Him and die to yourself.
If from your heart, you humble yourself and ask Him to forgive you of all of your offenses and sins and receive that He shed
His blood so you could live, He is faithful and merciful and He will forgive you. If you ask Him to come into your heart,
He will. If you ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit, He will. He is faithful. You must have a made
up mind to serve Him. He is waiting to hear from you.
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace
to the humble." Prov. 3:34
