Pride: Some Symptoms and the Cure

I have a confession to make.  I don’t do well with correction, I am easily offended and I have held on to offenses a lot longer than I should. The more I go with God, the more this becomes highlighted.  I can give you many reasons and excuses as to why I am like this but the beginning and end of the story is PRIDE. Pride is great at hiding itself and has many symptoms.  However it is my desire to go deeper with God and I have been crying out for the fire of God to purge me…to cure me from this pride thing. 

As my Pastor said in one of his sermons, I struggle with being corrected when I think too much of myself.  I assume I have it all figured out.  It is also quite prideful for me to hold on to offenses when Christ has freely forgiven me.  The words of Philippians 2 has been shining the light on some dark areas in my heart.  It reminds me that I am to imitate Christ’s humility…the cure for pride.  He did not cling to His rights as God.  He emptied Himself of all His divine privileges. And how did He handle those who offended Him?  He freely gave His life so that they could be forgiven.  So that I can be forgiven. As I strife to imitate Christ I am believing that not only will I quickly release offenses but that I won’t be so easily offended.  I desire to come to a place of having “thicker skin.”  When I am more like Him, it becomes less about me so I am not always wrapped up in how they made ME feel.  I desire to have the kind of love that covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). True love, true humility.

James 4:6 tells me that God resist the proud but He gives favor to the humble.  I am not at all interested in being resisted by the one who is in control.  That is a scary place to be. If I am resisted by God, all my efforts will fail.  EVERY SINGLE ONE!   So yielding to His spirit and asking to be transformed into His likeness is a no brainer for me…eternal failure is just not that appealing.

The more I spend time in God’s presence the more I see myself.  I get a different view of me, I see the real me.  His fire brings the impurities to the surface.  And while this process is humbling, it is also liberating to know that I am being transformed.  As my husband preached on yesterday, I am not interested in being a modified or stagnant Christian. I want to be TOTALLY TRANSFORMED!  I want to become a house of prayer!  So today, I am asking the Lord to deliver me from pride and all its symptoms.  How about you?