Ezekiel 28:1-2 – The Lord’s message came to me: ² “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, my heart experienced extreme heaviness as I contemplated the heaviness, and I began to realize why.   In this hour, the true condition of our world is being laid bare.

Ezekiel 28 addresses the power and destructiveness of pride.  The person addressed (I believe) was the devil.   It could easily have a dual application, but regardless, PRIDE was the culprit.

Pride prevents us from seeing our true condition and needs.  Pride prevents us from seeing the remedy.   Pride shuts off the flow of grace and dooms us to destruction.  Pride and humility are as incapable as light and darkness or oil and water.

Proverbs warns, “Pride goes before destruction…”  Pride dethrones God (to us) and enthrones self.  Pride leads to hell and is itself hellish. Pridefulness knows no peace and trusts nothing and no one.

Jesus came to free us from ALL sin.   He came to transform us into new creations with new hearts, minds, and desires.   He came to free us from the burden of being our own god.  That is a heavyweight. The responsibility is uncarryable.

Could I suggest it is Pride that prevents us from being His witnesses to the lost? Mark 16 gives a description of our commission and the evidence that accompanies it.

Sharing our faith is seldom without challenge.   The gospel challenges Pride in us and others and makes demands.   He gave a vehicle by which His gospel is validated to the doubters.   Mark 16:15-18. Signs and wonders accompany the gospel.  Demons defeated, new tongues, enemies overcome, protection from harm, and the miracle of divine healing are embodied in that commission.

The answer to Pride is Surrender to Jesus.   Surrender demands the abandonment of the self-preservation survival instinct that propels us into trusting self, which is an act of pride.

The fruit of my life is evidence of who I trust.   Is it God and His Word or me?   Surrender or Pride.   Pride cost Lucifer his place before God and will separate us from God and steal hope from many lost souls.

When I realize I cannot save myself and nothing is more valuable than my soul, I lose Pride and surrender.    Then, I become a vessel He can use.   We have a commission and a mission, and time is short.

May God inspire us to fully surrender to Jesus and begin to live the Life that He came to bring with the anointing and power!