SCRIPTURE:
“ ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,” therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste… '.
Ezekiel 29:9-10
OBSERVATION:
My guess is the Nile River was the source of Egypt’s sustenance, stability and survival. The waters probably fed all the crops, kept the community cool and hydrated, and it’s majesty and power crossed through all of the country. It was the landmark that Egyptians probably were most grateful for and proud of. And twice in a single statement they reveal that pride and come under judgement from God.
Not only did Egypt say the Nile was theirs, the claim to have made it. And with these 2 boldful and prideful claims, the Lord God comes against them; effectively ending their reign by bringing the nation to ruin and desolation.
APPLICATION:
Pride: there’s that word again. Growing up that was an important word. While Pauahi told us to “boldy stand together” somewhere along the line some kanaka morphed that into “ be proud”. Now I’m not saying that’s a bad statement. I have pride in my culture, pride in the accomplishment of my children, and even pride in things I have accomplished singularly and collectively with others. But since pride can easily transform itself into something ugly, maybe we’re better off not even going there? Maybe to steer clear of God’s ruin and desolation we’re better off giving all glory and honor to Him and Him alone? But don’t we already do that? Don’t we serve and audience of One, exacting our best efforts in the name of excellence?
Egypt’s problem was they reveled in their own glory. And the more prosperous they became the more the drifted from the source of that prosperity. What this resulted in was a misguided operation style where the source and endgame was completely off.
Now I am proud of success. I don’t think I go around blasting it; I’m not one to put a bumper sticker on my car celebrating my honor roll student. But while I claim Jesus as the source, reason and purpose of all my efforts, I need to put the guardrails in my life to ensure I never fall the way of the Egyptians, saying “fill in the blank is mine, I made it.” I need to have a proper pride.
While every moment of accomplishment will bring unique challenges to stay humble and grateful, there are a few things I can do to make sure my eyes stay up and my head stays bowed:
- Remember my story. All I need to do to ratchet back to humility is remember the grace God has had on my life and the grace that has been afforded to me by others.
- Stay grateful. Pastor Wayne says, “build your bank account with gratefulness to bankrupt your complaining.” In this case it’s my pride. I need to change the “me’s” to “because of Him”, the “I did’s” to “He did”. When I use the language of gratefulness my mind aligns to the good intentions of my heart.
- Always start with a blank slate. Someone said, “I’m on to the next one”. That needs to be my mentality. Let me explain. I need to always start at 1 and can’t expect yesterday’s success to be the starting point of today’s efforts. Each challenge is unique and requires unique anointing. Just because God blessed yesterday’s effort it doesn’t mean it’ll carry over to today. Now, I’m not saying God’s blessings are finite, but my reliance on it needs to be. If not, I may fall into the trap that thinks it was me, and that I made it. I need to continually seek His blessing and follow his anointing as the cloud moves by day and the fire by night.
PRAYER:
Thank you Jesus for Your grace, Your blessing and Your favor. Amen
