Jeremiah 13:15-17

15 Hear and give ear:
Do not be proud,
For the LORD has spoken.
16 Give glory to the LORD your God
Before He causes darkness,
And before your feet stumble
On the dark mountains,
And while you are looking for light,
He turns it into the shadow of death
And makes it dense darkness.
17 But if you will not hear it,
My soul will weep in secret for your pride;
My eyes will weep bitterly
And run down with tears,
Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Jeremiah 13:15-17 NKJV

Pride. So much trouble is caused by the pride we have in our lives. Judah was proud in their nation and in themselves. They had no reason to be proud in their accomplishments or themselves, anymore than we have to be proud of ourselves just because we have a blessing from God in our lives. Give the glory to the Lord our God, and let Him have the praise. God sees our pride and weeps bitterly because He sees the results of this pride. We place our trust in ourselves and our abilities and disaster awaits us. We will surely fail in the end if we rely on our self, because we cannot save ourselves. We must trust in God to save us, because we cannot cleanse ourselves from the sins that we have committed. The sacrifice of Jesus in giving His life cleanses us and we are offered the gift of eternal life. It is with humbleness, not pride, that we should accept this gift. If someone offered me a million dollars and I accept it, is it because of my generosity that I now have a million dollars? I have no reason to be proud. If I work hard and create a product that sells and sells until I have earned a million dollars, should I be proud that I have done so? Does not God give me the health and the talent and the time and the resources and the help of others and the wisdom to recognize the opportunity? God is responsible for all good that comes to me, why should I think that any success I have is because of my greatness? While I am in the light I can see, if I let pride come between God and myself the light will be blocked out and I will be in darkness. When the darkness prevails, I will stumble and fall. Death will come upon me and I cannot stop it when it arrives. Pride in myself does not keep me upright and it does not give me life, Pride did not keep Judah safe in the land God had given to their fathers as a land of promise and safety. God deserves the honor and glory, by trying to give honor and glory to ourselves we become blinded to His blessings.

Lord,
Help me today to give you the honor and glory for all the blessings You give me. Help me to be humble, recognizing that You are the source of all my blessings and the One who gives me everything I need. I tend to look at my small accomplishments and think I am something special, but everything I accomplish is done using the gifts You have given me in Your love. Help me to remember Your greatness and continuously call upon You for the strength and wisdom I need to be Your servant.