June 07, 2023
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. (Prov. 3:7-8)
It's so easy. In fact, it's our most natural posture. If we are not careful, we begin to think we know better than anyone. We vainly believe that no one has a better understanding than us.
We have forgotten our place.
All of this fades like the morning fog when we remember God. We see ourselves as small in light of His bigness and unwise in light of His perfect wisdom. We see the limits and folly of a self-absorbed life.
We realize we stand before Him and must one day give an account, and it causes us to have a healthy fear of the Lord. A holy, humble reverence before Him. And this reverence leads us away from evil and the pride that is always at the root of our sins.
Such humility creates teachability in our lives. We understand how little we know and how desperately we need to "lean not on our own understanding" but turn in every thought and decision to the God of all wisdom.
The Lord honors those who see themselves rightly. He promises to bless a man who lives in wise dependency before Him. As he looks to the Lord, God provides him with all he needs, and the world sees what a man with a correct opinion of himself is like.
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