A WEE PEEK – “… I hadn’t thought of myself as an arrogant or prideful individual and didn’t like seeing it in others. But here I was, with a light being shined on this dirty part of my mind. How many times had I ‘put forth my finger’ in the judgement of others? How many times had I actually acted ‘holier than thou’ with my thoughts and speech?..”
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The Stink of Pride
PERSONAL TESTIMONY SERIES
(Isaiah 58:9) – “…If you take away from you the yoke, the putting forth of your finger, and speaking vanity…then you shall rise from obscurity and your darkness will be as the noonday…”
The previous reason as to why I was going through this major trial of surgeries and illness, was an extreme example, but it had to be, to deal with that kind of fierceness and anger which could have destroyed much. This experience, however, was a lot less traumatic but equal in its power to not only highlight the issues but to bring about being set free from a major issue. And to help, I had this portion of a book to help me along the way.
“…God gives us a new view of dark things. What we thought was punishment, turns out to be the chastening of the father’s heart. The knife was not of the destroyer (satan) but of the surgeon (God). What seemed to be to death, is shown to achieve a fuller life…” – Christ in Isaiah
This passage really struck home. Attacks from the enemy were, of course, predictable, but he wasn’t the focus. What God was showing me, was that this season had been allowed and it was God who was trying to accomplish a goal. So I hit back to the chapter in James, stomped up the stairs, and asked, why is this happening to me. I got my answer. The sentence I felt impressed upon, was “You Know Why.” The verse in Isaiah above came straight to mind and all of a sudden I could see. I didn’t like it one bit, but I looked at myself and saw how arrogant and prideful I really was. It was really quite embarrassing to see the stink of pride.
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I hadn’t thought of myself as an arrogant or prideful individual and didn’t like seeing it in others. But here I was, with a light being shined on this dirty part of my mind. How many times had I ‘put forth my finger’ in the judgement of others? How many times had I actually acted ‘holier than thou’ with my thoughts and speech? I really thought that this legalistic and religious spirit wasn’t me, but there it was right in front of me, causing issues when it arose. And when God brought it to light and showed me this trait for what it was, I asked him to remove it from my life. It was a great revelation and I was really pleased with the experience. But only two weeks later, I acted in that same way, and my joy turned to disappointment.
Again, the season I was experiencing was exceptional, and hearing from God wasn’t just a desire, but an absolute must. So, I turned to him and said, ‘I thought you’d dealt with this pride in me and here I am acting the same way?’ His reply was this; ‘yes, but you can see it now.’ I nodded in agreement and got the meaning straight away. Pride is one of those traits which isn’t easy to see. Sometimes it appears like confidence and boldness, but yet it’s only the stink of pride venting its feelings. The change that had now taken place, was that I could now tell the difference as to whether it was indeed pride, or this new confidence and boldness, bringing the fruit out in my life.
This revelation not only changed my life but explained why I was going through what I was going through. I could see my pride and I could see just how much this issue had held me back in so many ways.
BLOG BLURB – Lots more personal testimonies to come!
