When Obedience Brings Blessings

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Despite all that's going on around us, we can choose to walk and live by faith. Living by faith is trusting God's ways more than our own, even if it seems mundane. It means setting aside our pride, which keeps us from God's best (Genesis 3:1-7Proverbs 11:2Proverbs 16:18). No one is perfect, and all of us have flaws (2 Kings 5:1-2). Sometimes, our pride causes us to hide those areas of our lives that are unfavorable in an effort to keep up appearances. Changing our circumstances won't change our hearts because that's where pride resides. Thankfully, God can cleanse our hearts, but that means letting go of our pride, often doing things that are uncomfortable (2 Kings 5:9-10). It also means surrendering the plans that we had envisioned and following God's lead instead. It's important to not be discouraged and to make sure we don't overlook the simplicity of what God is asking you to do (2 Kings 5:11-12). When pride is present in our lives, who we think we are doesn't allow us to become who God desires us to be. With pride, we lose everything and gain nothing. We must never let our pride keep something broken that our hearts want to fix (2 Kings 5:13-14). Let’s be willing to have humble hearts willing to obey and serve; to develop the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:3-8James 4:9-10).

Points To Ponder
1) Where in my heart and my life does pride reside?
2) What difficult thing is God asking me to do, and how do I react to that?
3) How can I start humbling myself and having a spirit open to what God is saying?