Friday, January 13, 2017

Boastful….I’m sure we’ve all felt it

January 13, 2017

Sometimes when I’m at work I get a little boastful. It’s not easy going from hospital to hospital, continually adapting and proving yourself to other people. Maybe I get a little boastful when I talk about how awesome and smart my husband is. Sometimes I get a little prideful when I think of my family and what they have over come. Not to mention how quickly my pride sets in when I have proven someone wrong, when someone has finally listened and realized I was right all along.
                                                    
Pride can be such a tricky thing. People say you have to exude confidence. They say you need to let people know how great you are. They say you must prove yourself. But do we really? Is that really what we should be like? I think we need to work on being humble. A prideful heart can lead to large egos. Large egos tend to push people out of the way. It makes you forget what you were and where you came from. When your heart is full of pride does it even have room for God?

Maybe you forget that you are nothing without God. Maybe you forget that God provided the way for you. God paved the way for you. In fact, God did it all and you were just along for the ride. You might say, but I did ___, but I got that promotion, but I, but I, but I! You didn’t do anything. Let it sink in. You didn’t do anything. Everything you are and everything you will be is because of God. All good and perfect things come from the Lord.

Just take a quick peak at 2:Timothy 3. Those first few verses really paint things pretty clearly so much so that it says have nothing to do with such people. I think most people would say that a lot from those verses describes our culture pretty well. How much of that culture has crept into your life? How many words on that list do you have a tendency to do or be? Boastful…Proud…lovers of money…lovers of themselves…unforgiving…without self control…conceited. So many things that can slip into your life so easily, but can become so devastating.  So many things that can change your heart and your mind. You have to stay alert. You have to stay on guard. Don’t let the ways of this world penetrate who you are called to be in life and in Christ.

If you really feel the need to boast in anything maybe you should boast in God. In what He has done for you, in all the ways He has carried you. You need to humble yourself before the Lord. Let His ways lead you, let His words penetrate your heart, let everything that you do be done for the Lord, let God be the commander of your life. Don’t try to be your own guide and rely on God only in the hard times. He wants all of you, all the time.

Don’t trick yourself into thinking that you can take on your situation. Don’t trick yourself into thinking you can handle the world. You can’t. You were never created to do life alone. You were created in God’s image. He wants to be your companion. He wants to walk alongside you in life, no matter how crazy it gets. He wants to do great things in and through you, but He can’t if your pride gets in the way. He can’t if you don’t give Him any room to work.


Let go of your selfish ways. Let go of your pride. Let go of your control. Only one person can truly be the captain of the ship. Stop trying to take over the wheel. Stop trying to take credit for the work God has done in your life. Start thanking Him for what He has done. Start giving Him the praise that He deserves. Start letting Him work on your heart from the inside out. Let him reign control in your life and stop thinking that you have it all under control. You don’t…You never did. Sometimes you have a little trouble seeing that He was and will always be in control. Accept it, embrace it and be thankful for what He has planned, but don’t get in His way! 

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