Beating pride

 Psalm 30:1–12 (ESV):  

1  I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up 

and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 

2  O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, 

and you have healed me. 

3  O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; 

you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. 

4  Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, 

and give thanks to his holy name. 

5  For his anger is but for a moment, 

and his favour is for a lifetime. 

Weeping may tarry for the night, 

but joy comes with the morning. 

6  As for me, I said in my prosperity, 

“I shall never be moved.” 

7  By your favour, O Lord, 

you made my mountain stand strong; 

you hid your face; 

I was dismayed. 

8  To you, O Lord, I cry, 

and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 

9  “What profit is there in my death, 

if I go down to the pit? 

Will the dust praise you? 

Will it tell of your faithfulness? 

10  Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! 

O Lord, be my helper!” 

11  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; 

you have loosed my sackcloth 

and clothed me with gladness, 

12  that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. 

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! 

This psalm of David’s tells of a time of great restoration. He was very unwell at one point of his life, so much so that people were preparing for his death. He himself thought he was going to die and his enemies were enjoying watching his demise. Yet, God brought David back from the brink of life to be restored, healed and forgiven. 

David acknowledges that the reason God brought him so low was because he had become too self and worldly-reliant. He had thought, “I shall never be moved” - nothing can touch me, I am doing well, life is good and nothing can change that. He had begun to feel proud of his achievements and wealth and felt secure in those things. Each of us can be guilty of the same thing, can't we? Being satisfied in oneself and your accomplishments without recognising that it is all due to God’s favour, is pride. Pride is dangerous as you can become self-reliant, over-confident and selfish. A proud person is not good in community and takes glory and honour away from God. All of us have to overcome pride, no-one is immune to it. Maybe it’s pride in; achievements, monetary gain, wisdom, family, heritage or renown. Whatever you have the propensity to be proud in - WATCH OUT! Proverbs rightly says that pride comes before a fall. David’s story in this psalm is proof of that, and I am sure you can recount stories of others who took their eyes off of God, became confident in other things and have paid a hefty price for it. 

Honour and blessings are great and can come from other places than God. When this happens this can cause a mindset of self-sufficiency and self-worth to build that takes the focus off of God and what He has done. When this happens people fall disgracefully. David found that as he prospered his mindset shifted from one of total dependence and reliance on God to feeling like he could rely upon the power, responsibility, influence and wealth that he had built. He came to trust in himself, his role, and his stuff. So a time of terrible, degrading illness came to remind him who really was in charge. 

 By your favour, O Lord, 

you made my mountain stand strong; 

you hid your face; 

I was dismayed. 

In order for David to realise that God was the source of all he had, and who really is worthy of glory, honour and trust, God, 'hid' His face. God turned away. Why? Because how can you teach, influence or even bless someone that has become proud? It can feel like hitting your head against a brick wall. Sometimes the best help you can give is give them space so that they realise absence feels like. That's what God did with David, and what He may do to you if you get caught in the same spiral. God wants to give you favour, but if you deny Him and start to believe in your own power, authority and gifting how can He? You need to remember who is the one who has built these things into your life and who should be honoured and thanked for them. 

Thankfully, you can always repent and turn back to God when you realise that you've become trapped in self-sufficiency and self-worth, where pride has taken control. David repented and was miraculously restored both physically and spiritually as, ‘his anger is but for a moment, and his favour is for a lifetime.’ When you acknowledge that you have fallen into the sin of pride, and want to be free of it, you can be forgiven and restored. God only remains angry for a little while, but His favour and blessing can last the rest of your life! You just need to turn back to Him, acknowledge where you've gone wrong and accept His forgiveness. It doesn't even matter if you keep getting the same thing wrong, and it seems to take you a while to learn often making the same mistakes. God does not remain angry with a repentant heart. His desire is to have a relationship with you, to be your father and pour out his lavish love and gifts upon you so that you can enjoy them and use them to glorify Him. So at your next success, honour, encouragement, promotion and blessing remember to be grateful to God. Remember who has helped you get there and give honour to God for it. This will save you from pride and ensure that you're living in His favour for the rest of your lifetime!