Isaiah 10:12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.”

We humans have a bad habit of thinking we accomplish things on our own. The next two verses sound like they could be a quote from Vladimir Putin, but the takedown in verse 15 applies to anyone who is used by God to accomplish anything. The more I read the Bible the more I am convinced that pride is at the root of the vast majority of sin. It was foundational to the original temptation in the Garden of Eden: “You will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5) Actually, it was what got the devil thrown out of heaven, because he desired worship for himself. (Isaiah 14:12-14) It is a demonstration of God’s grace that He uses anyone in His plans, because it would probably be easier for Him to just do it Himself, without human agency. However, He wants children, and that means He needs to train us to be like Him. The whole issue is actually beyond human understanding, but again in His grace He does speak to our hearts. This is why Paul speaks so repeatedly of “mysteries.” The works of God aren’t something we can figure out on our own! Humility is absolutely essential to growth as a child of God. As James famously said, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10) We should be deeply grateful anytime God chooses to use us, and strive to be as available to Him as possible, but not try to dictate how that is going to be, because we’ll get it wrong every time!

This is a subject I have all too much familiarity with! I have an enormous capacity for pride, and it nearly destroyed me, though I had no idea of the danger I was in. All of my life I have been blessed incredibly, but somewhere along the line I thought I deserved it. Rather than just squash me, God in His mercy showed me a mirror for just an instant, and what I saw of myself drove me to my knees. All that had puffed me up had been given to me, and yet I had felt and acted as though it were mine by right, and I took it for granted. The level of spiritual blindness and stupidity involved in that is astounding! At this point I can’t say that I have arrived, any more than Paul could, (Philippians 3:12-14) but thankfully, I have grown from where I was. I pray to keep growing until I stand before my Lord in heaven, but I won’t accomplish that growth by my own effort, but only by the grace and mercy of God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Guide me in communicating it with others as You intend, so that all of Your children who hear it may be encouraged and strengthened, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!