The Key to Curing Pride
As with many people, each year I ask God for a “word.” You know, that “thing” that will be my focus focus or theme for the year. I began asking in the Fall, and as a result, He gave me not only one word, but two: “Manifest Presence.” I immediately dove in, trying my best to fully understand and experience this concept. My journey has been different than what I imagined. I’ve been challenged and encouraged; inspired and frustrated. My learning curve has been steep. So steep, in fact, that at times I don’t think I’ll make it. Nevertheless, this journey has been priceless, beautiful and life-changing. Having now a bit of a better understanding, I have decided that I am desperate for His Manifest Presence, and I can never go back.
In studying my “words”, a particular sub-topic continually surfaces – Worship. Realizing that I recently wrote on “Wounded Worship,” I hesitated to visit this topic again. But I knew I had to share, as I have been made aware that worship is our greatest weapon in defeating our opponents – in this case, the enemy that can cause such havoc in our lives such as moral failure, broken relationships, or even our own destruction – Pride.
Over and over in Scripture, we are warned about pride.
“God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6
“I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
In that I want to experience God’s Manifest Presence, and I certainly don’t want Him to oppose me, I knew that worship in this context was something warranting further consideration.
Lately I have been reminded of what a narcissistic world we live in, as I’ve had unfortunate encounters with many individuals who suffer with his deadly disease. It seems that there is a general lack of empathy both within and outside of the church, thus causing people to consider their own wants and needs first. Although I try my best to avoid this trait, I’ve become painfully aware that as a society, we are ever-increasingly becoming people who are consumed with self. In fact, it’s a downright daily battle to not succumb to this toxic enemy.
We all struggle with pride in one form or another. To think that you don’t is…well…prideful. So how do we fix this? What is the cure? What will keep us from falling into this trap? The fact is, there’s only one cure – WORSHIP. Worship rights that which is wrong. It turns arrogance and narcissism into humility and grace. When we worship, our world is brought back in to proper perspective. We properly align ourselves with God, recognizing that He is the Almighty, and we are not. When we worship, we recognize, yet once again, that the world doesn’t revolve around us.
Worship is not contained to just music or singing, although these two elements play a key role. Worship also involves our hearts, minds, confessions, countenance, expressions and beliefs. When we genuinely recognize Who God is, and that we are not Him; when we understand that He is above all and in all, we can then partner our hearts and minds with our mouths and thoughts, worshipping any time and any place. We are not limited to a particular space or worship service. We are free to worship every moment of every day, whether alone or surrounded by millions. There are no limits.
We can destroy any and all pride in our lives by simply doing the following each day:
Acknowledge and Praise Him – “God, You are the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. There is no one like you! You are above all! You are Lord of my life! I worship You and I love You!” These acknowledgements put both ourselves and God in our proper places. We are humbled and pride is chipped away. We are in awe of Him – that an almighty, perfect God desires a personal relationship with a fallen, imperfect us.
Proclaim Who and What He is – “You’re my Savior! You’re my Healer! My Provider! My Rock, Strength, Joy, Peace, Hope, Lover of my Soul, etc.” By acknowledging Who and What He is, we recognize His Power and Strength – that nothing and no one else compares to Him.
Thank Him – “God, thank You so very much for Your grace, mercy, kindness, love, salvation, patience, forgiveness, provision, etc.” Don’t you want your children to be appreciative? Isn’t it appropriate for them to say, “Thank you?” We owe God the same! This declaration destroys any arrogance that would try to convince us that we don’t need Him, or that we provide for ourselves.
Confess Your Need of Him – “I’m desperate for You, Lord. I am nothing without You. Only You can forgive me. It is You who saved me, even though I didn’t deserve it.” If we think we don’t need forgiving, saving, or redeeming…we’re very deceived. We are all sinners, desperately in need of His grace and mercy.
Acknowledge Your Dependence on Him – “I need You, Lord. I am desperate for You. I cannot do anything within my own power. It is only by Your anointing and power that I can do that which you’ve called me to do.” Being desperate is a great place to be! True arrogance is thinking that we’re so talented, gifted, or capable, that we can do it on our own.
Worship is our greatest tool and most powerful weapon. Whether we use it to enter His Manifest Presence, destroy pride, or seek His face – it takes us where we need to go and provides for us what we cannot provide for ourselves.
As we go about our week – may we all be stirred to praise and worship Him – whether in song or declaration, thought or prayer. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s powerful. Let’s do it, and be empowered to walk our lives out in humility, honor and grace!
