Here comes one of my favorite verses of scriptures from Proverbs 18:

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, And before honour is humility” (Proverbs 18:12 KJV) . 

And previously in Proverbs 16:18, it  states that “Pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall” 

The two key words here are ‘destruction’ and ‘haughty”.

Destruction refers to the act of ruination, tearing down, pulling down or overthrowing.

Haughty refers to the attitude of pride, arrogance and self importance.

*An Example of how destruction befalls haughty people is found in Obadiah 1:3-4, which tells us about the heart attitude of the Edomites and how God responded to them:

“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD” Obadiah 1:3-4 KJV

 A haughty spirit invites Divine disciplines. Hence it is written that;

 ‘God resists/opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6).

But when you humble yourself, before God,  He will exalt you (James 4:10).

If you are haughty or prideful,  and you need a change in your frustrating circumstances, then you need to repent before God, renew your mind and start being humble.

 Because, until you change your attitude and behaviors,  your issues won’t go away. They will gradually get worse until every element of pride in you is destroyed.

That is the reason why your going from one deliverance minister to another won’t resolve your crisis.

You must change and live as the righteousness of God in this world.

Your troubles are not about demons (satan is a defeated foe already), rather, it is about you becoming like Christ in worship, character, and service. 

God refines His children as silver or gold passes through fire to remove impurities. (See Psalm 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9)

Personal Testimony:

I have been there, and God allowed adversities to destroy the backbone of my pride.

Way back, as an up and coming Christian Missionary, I had some unrelenting issues that just won’t go away. 

So, I prayed, fasted, and casted out real and imagined demons, proclaimed,  declared,  and decreed. But the issues did not even budge!

And I was a praying machine!

I was so demon focused that every midnight, I would wake up and do spiritual warfare for over 5 hours for over 365 days non-stop!

But the more I prayed,  the more things became worse. 

Then one day, after an exhaustive night of prayers, I humbly asked God to please just be merciful to me and teach me the lessons in the afflictions. 

 Honestly, I had reached the lowest point of my life, exhausted all options, and I was tired and gradually going blind because of crying. 

Twas then God asked me about Colossians 1:13 where it states;

“who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: ( Colossians 1:13 KJV)

He posited that if I have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, why would I think that I was under satanic torment?

He clearly stated that my troubles had nothing to do with satan, but with Him my God!.

That was the turning point of my life, again! 

I stopped my demonology, and focused on Christology. 

Don’t wait until you are out of options before becoming humble.

Part 2:

What does God require of us?

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8 KJV)

Humility, which means lowliness of mind, is a basic requirement for all Christians.

Humility involves a heart attitude of gratitude, a recognition that you owe everything that you are or own, to God. (See Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:3, Galatians 2:20, Micah 6:6)

Yesterday’s content discussed why you should not be an ingrate.

 Add  pride and its evil relatives as what you should not be, going forward. 

Resolve to be humble, in and out! Be gracious, be grateful. Look back and thank God for where you are at.

The only time you can look down on people is when you are extending a hand (financially, morally, prayerfully) to lift them up.

Remember Whose you are, and who you are.  

“By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, and honour, and life” (Proverbs 22:4)

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for breaking the backbone of my pride and for teaching me humility.

Going forward, help me to stay humble and to learn lessons in life, in an easy way. 

I ask O God, that you will be merciful to refocus those who are ignorantly focusing on demons, instead of growing in the knowledge of Christ. 

Be God,  and be big in our lives,  in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. 

Go ahead to Proverbs 19.

God Bless you all for your participation and active comments.

Shalom from Hephzibah Christly, Ph.D., #TheSpiritualWarrior, December 18, 2024.