Be Careful!

 I used to have to get up on the roof of my house to clean the gutters. When I did that, Chris would make me tell her, so she could hold the ladder for me. I always felt like I was able to do it without her, but I gave  in to her request just to be careful. It is better to be safe than sorry. I would never want to fall off of a roof. It would be devasting. Well, we need to have a similar philosophy about life. We should always be careful to keep away from self-confidence and pride.

The people of Edom were enemies of Israel. They were very fierce and proud people. However, God had a message for them. (Jeremiah 49:16) He told them that their fierceness had deceived them. It had made them proud. Even though they dwelt in the high places, as high as an eagles nest, God would bring them down from there. That is what God did to them, and He will do it to us, too.

I don't think I can warn us against pride, too much. It is a constant enemy for all of us. We can trust in our own abilities and strength, so that we do not trust in the Lord. Just think about it. No matter how strong we are, what is our strength compared to the strength of God? That's right, it is nothing. However, God has promised to give us His strength if we will sincerely trust in Him. He will not have to bring us down. He will lift us up to do whatever we need to do.

At other times we may feel like we are above being brought down by God, because we are doing so well spiritually in our life. We can get complacent, and see ourselves as special saints whom God would not touch. We can have an "eagle complex." We can have a spiritual pride that makes us think we are above other normal Christians. That is never the case. If God sees that, He will bring us down, like He brought Peter down. It will help us see ourselves as needing to continue to grow and trust the Lord every day.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 50-52 and Lamentations 1-2.