Marie’s daily verse: Psalm 33:4: 

For the word of the LORD holds true,and we can trust everything he does.

DAILY DEVOTION. August 14, 2023

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

In a few words, James presents us with a profound truth. Some people will find that God resists them.  They are proud. Others will find that they are the recipients of God’s grace. They are humble. This is one of those spiritual truths that operates around the clock. God always resists the proud and always gives grace to the humble.

I don’t know this for sure, having never been to Australia, but I understand there are tiny spiders there who have very colorful abdomens. They are called peacock spiders. The males try to impress the females by showing off their bright cores.

Some of us are like these spiders. We want to draw attention to ourselves by displaying our brilliant minds, bodies, talents, wealth, or whatever. The effort to draw attention to ourselves may impress people, but God is not impressed. So pride always puts us at odds with God, which is not a good place to be! 

If you wish to receive God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that blessing is reserved for the humble. The humble are those who are not seeking to exalt themselves. They are often embarrassed when others seek to praise them. Instead, they seek to use their gifts to honor God even if no one else notices.

Gracious Father, I ask You to help me turn aside from pride. Help me to look continually at the life of Jesus and thus to be driven to humility before Him.  In His name, I pray, Amen. 

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