Agree with God

 

 

One side of pride is taking credit for everything you have accomplished. The other side is false humility, where you think you will never accomplish anything significant for God. Both attitudes devalue your life.

 

True humility agrees with God and submits to the authority of His Word. If the Word says we are the righteousness of God and can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (1 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 4:13), it would be prideful to disagree with it. If the Word says that God will supply all our needs and whatever we lay our hands on will be blessed (Philippians 4:19, Deuteronomy 28:8), it would be prideful to disagree. If the Word says Jesus has given you authority over all the enemy’s power (Luke 10:19), it would be prideful not to believe it. You cannot do any of these in yourself, but you can do everything God calls you to do. Agreeing with God’s Word and submitting to its truth is humility. 

 

However, many Christians don’t allow the Word of God to stand in the way of what they believe. They don’t submit to its authority. 

 

David may have been called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), but he was also a paramount sinner. If you were to grade the degree of David’s sin, his would be one of the worst. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then, to cover it up, murdered Uriah, her husband (2 Samuel 11). 

 

There was a time when a young David never would have contemplated this sin. Saul was pursuing David to kill him. When the opportunity suddenly arose one day for David to kill an unsuspecting Saul, David humbly refused to seize the occasion to kill him (1 Samuel 24). However, later in life, David’s successes as king inflated his ego. David should have been on the battlefield, fulfilling His duty as king, and not bored at home watching a beautiful woman bathing. But David did as he wanted. And he wanted Bathsheba.

 

Why would someone with such pride be called a man after God’s own heart? When Nathan confronted David about his sin, David immediately repented (2 Samuel 12). He responded without hesitation.

 

Compare this to Saul’s response to the Lord’s reproof in 1 Samuel 13. The Israelites were heavily outnumbered when facing the Philistines in Saul’s second year as king. When Israelites saw their overwhelming number, they fled in fear, but Saul waited seven days—the time set by Samuel. When Saul didn’t see Samuel coming, he took matters into his own hands and unlawfully offered a sacrifice. Samuel arrived just as Saul finished.

 

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

 

Although Saul’s sin doesn’t appear as terrible as David’s, both men still sinned. But unlike David, Saul didn’t humble himself and repent. In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel told Saul to destroy all the Amalekites and to let no person or animal live. But Saul did not obey the Lord. Saul let Agag, the king, live and kept the best animals for himself. Once more, when Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience, instead of humbling himself, Saul argued with the prophet and made excuses for his actions. Because Saul refused to obey the Lord or humble himself when his sin was confronted, Samuel said the Lord had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23).

 

Saul fell to the ground, grabbed Samuel’s robe, and pleaded with him: “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God” (1 Corinthians 15:30).

 

Do you hear the pride in Saul’s words? He had just lost God’s recognition and approval, but his words reveal that he only cared about what the people thought of him. He desired their approval before he desired God’s. While pride always seeks the favor and recognition of men, humility always seeks God’s approval.

 

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isaiah 57:15).

 

Our Creator, the “High and Lofty One,” dwells with the humble and fellowships with him. With a humble heart, you know you don’t have to prove yourself to God. You have peace in your relationship with Him because Jesus proved you to Him. God’s grace is not dependent on you. It is not based on your good or bad deeds or how much you love Him. It is based on His unreserved love for you. David sinned horrendously, but he humbled himself and received the grace of God. 

 

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (James 4:6). 

 

God’s grace is unconditional, but it is proportional to our humility. If God gives more grace, He also gives less grace.  If the Holy Spirit reveals pride in your life, whether from high or low self-esteem, humble yourself, repent, and receive more grace.

 

“A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23).

 

Surrender any pride. It will only humiliate you. Humility will honor you. David surrendered his pride when he didn’t kill Saul in the cave and immediately repented when Nathan confronted him about Bathsheba (1 Samuel 24, 2 Samuel 12). God honored David’s humility.

 

There is no need to prove yourself to God. You don’t need to exalt yourself. On the cross, Jesus exalted you and approved your value to God. God created you. He knows your hunger for acceptance, approval, and love. And His love alone fulfills this hunger. You are chosen. You are called. You are justified. God has given you His glory (Romans 8:30). 

 

“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

 

You can’t walk with God unless you agree with Him. Don’t devalue your life with pride. God valued you with His humility. Humble yourself and value Him. Believe you are chosen, called, and justified so pride will no longer try to justify you. God honors your humility. He gives more grace, more favor, to the humble. 

 

 

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