Pride ALWAYS Comes to Steal, Kill and Destroy!
While FAM members have been so blessed to witness the restoration of three marriages in the past week, we have also had painful and undeniable reminders of the destructive danger and power of pride, and the amazingly predictable way it tends to rear its ugly head just hours before restoration. And since pride is such an obstacle to all that we stand for, it has often been the topic of previous Seeds Of Faith posts; such as Recognizing and Avoiding the Danger of Pride and BEWARE…Satan Comes ONLY to Steal, Kill and Destroy! So I urge everyone to read these posts to get a better idea of just what pride is and how the devil so predictably and effectively attempts to use it against us in the hours leading up to restoration.
The first restoration we celebrated last week would have had a TOTALLY different outcome if the FAM member had allowed her pride to get the best of her when the spouse of a woman who works with her husband called to inform her that his wife was having an affair with her husband! But she responded in unconditional love, respect, and humility and within a few hours her husband was home…even though they were in the process of getting a divorce and he had very recently told her that he just couldn’t come back home! Just like Genesis 50:20 declares; what was meant for harm, God ALWAYS meant for good and the saving of many! But it was HOW the wife responded to this news that finally convinced her husband that she had really changed and made him decide to come home!
And the restoration we were blessed to celebrate yesterday would have easily been blown if the FAM member had not understood the absolute necessity of taking EVERY thought captive and making them obedient to Christ; because just hours before her wonderful breakthrough, she was under intense spiritual attack and couldn’t even believe some of the thoughts that kept invading her mind. But she refused to entertain the devil and give him entrance into her heart, mind and spirit; she humbled herself under the mighty hand of God and He certainly lifted her up in DUE time!
In addition to the above testimonies and examples of how the devil attempts to use pride to thwart marriage restoration at every possible turn; the testimonies/introductions of several new FAM Fellowship members have tragically revealed how the devil had used their pride to literally steal, kill and destroy their marriages and families. But the good news is that we can’t possibly make such a mess of things that God can’t create a miracle out of it; in fact, the greater the mess, the greater the miracle and the greater the glory for our Lord! And we have no doubt that all of these new members will be sharing their Restored Marriage Testimonies one day as well!
So, as we stand for the restoration of our marriages and families, we can’t afford not to realize that pride ALWAYS comes to steal, kill and destroy. In John 10:10, Jesus said The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. And Proverbs 16:18 warns that Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. And since Satan was cast out of heaven because of his pride (Isaiah 14:12-14), he obviously knows pride very well; not to mention the power it has to bring about the destruction he desires. So it’s no wonder that Satan is able to use our pride so effectively to steal, kill and destroy our marriages and families, our hope for marriage restoration and the word of our testimonies! And since God literally opposes the proud and brings them low; yet promises to give grace to the humble and that when we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, He will lift us up in DUE time, the wisdom of choosing to resist the devil and walk humbly should be pretty apparent. And even though it is often overlooked, the fact that the devil uses pride to bring about the death and destruction he comes to accomplish is clearly and unmistakably revealed in 1 Peter 5:5-8, which says:
5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
But when we learn to recognize and overcome pride, we will be blessed and encouraged because GOD will lift us up in DUE time!