DAILY DEVOTIONAL – DECEMBER 31, 2022  What Holds Us Down By Claude Houde

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV). The Lord desires to bestow his favor and blessing upon you to lift you above what limits you, so that you become the person he sees in you. There is a call that only you can fulfill on this earth, in your generation and within your family. To achieve this, the Lord is ready to pour on you a special grace and his strength on a daily basis. However, another force acts in us and opposes this process. It is our pride. God's favor is blocked by your pride, for God resists the proud as the Bible tells us. The expression ‘resist’ comes from the Greek word antitassomai and means to line up in battle against or oppose someone. In other words, when we choose to stand in our pride, we are literally going to war with God. When we choose pride, we reproduce on a small scale, Satan's rebellion against God. The secret thoughts of pride that led Lucifer to his downfall are revealed in Isaiah 14:12-14:  “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God… I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” To choose pride is to elevate our own ‘thrones,’ rights, opinions, plans, desires and decisions above those of our husband or wife, our children or grandchildren, above even God. Therefore, we abort the divine process of elevation that he intended to accomplish in us. Dear friend, I plead with all my heart and might, stop choosing pride, stubbornness, arrogance, harshness, coldness, self-centered bitterness and unforgiveness. Stop denying your part, blaming others, wallowing in self-pity, elevating your suffering or disappointment above God's promises and infinite redemptive ability. Choose instead to walk in humility before God. Choose to be honest about your sins with yourself, God and other people. Choose to have the courage to ask for forgiveness. Recognize your need for God to break that pride that has kept you limited for too long. God desires to lift you up. Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.