There May Be Hope For Me Yet – How to Handle Pride – Purity 1930
Purity 1930 04/06/2026 Purity 1930 Audio Podcast
Purity 1930 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a leaning tree and a rugged shack of a barn underneath a magnificent blue springtime sky comes to us from yours truly as I captured this serene scene Saturday morning during what could be one of, if not the last, trips that I will make down “Freedom Road” in Easton.
Well, it’s Monday and I awaken from Easter Weekend, hoping to strip off the old familiar grave clothes of holiday compromise and to go forth in newness of life. My struggles with food addiction and occasional comfort eating food binges is well documented on the blog and wish I could say that the Lord used the last 40 days of Lent to purge my body and mind of that besetting sin but as of yesterday, I have to report that this inexplicable tendency to do what I know isn’t good or healthy for me still causes me grief as I spent the last several weeks having “cheat weekends”. When the food addict “gives in to social pressure” or decides to “treat themselves” with unhealthy foods or too much food as a “reward”, they are only deceiving themselves and end up betraying their best intentions, sabotaging their progress, and reinforcing their addictive pattern. That’s all – it’s only the worst of the worst things you can do to yourself, because you don’t only lose the physical progress that healthy eating brings, you remain in bondage to the lies that you believe.
The only good thing that a holiday weekend food binge could do is to bring you to “rock bottom” – to reach the lowest of lows that will cause you to enact a radical change that can lead to deliverance. Sometimes, to get healthy, you have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Sometimes, to move forward, you have to fall and roll around in your sin for a while before you can get up and walk free. I’m hoping that this is the beginning of the end because I really don’t want to live this way anymore and just want to be free of all the nonsense that unhealthy eating brings to my life.
So even though we are on the other side of “repentance season” with Lent behind us, I’m ready to do some soul searching to leave my pride and sin behind. Speaking of sin and pride, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today addresses that topic, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage all of us to go to the Lord in humility to be set free.
“How to Handle Pride
Pride finds ways to serve self, but humility chooses to trust God and wait for His timing
1 Samuel 24:8-12
Pride causes us to believe that we can manage life on our own. The first two kings of Israel—Saul and David—illustrate different approaches to handling pride.
Saul’s high opinion of himself resulted in decisions contrary to God’s commands. For example, having defeated the Amalekites, the king reasoned that he should take some spoils of war, even though God had said to destroy all the enemy’s belongings—including animals (1 Samuel 15:3). When confronted by Samuel, Saul replied that he’d spared the animals so he could “sacrifice [them] to the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:15). God saw through his words to a heart of pride.
When self-centeredness controls our thinking, we’ll seek ways around divine commands in order to serve ourselves. If caught, we may try to justify our disobedience, just as Saul did.
David—Israel’s second king, chosen while Saul was still on the throne—didn’t try to initiate his own reign. Instead, he waited for God’s timing. That meant enduring Saul’s jealous rages and murder attempts without retaliating. In fact, even when he had the opportunity, David refused to seize the throne; he didn’t allow pride to dominate his thinking.
Is there any self-exaltation in your life? If so, spend some time with the Lord today and ask Him to help you grow in humility. – Charles Stanley
Amen. The best way to know whether we are on the right path is to ask Our Guide. Because of the deception of the world, the flesh, and the devil, our view of our own lives is not always perfect. If we are not careful, we can easily bend the word of the Lord through our own interpretation to justify our sinful attitudes or actions.
In my ministry work and coaching, by asking questions and examining truth from scripture, I have helped others to see their “blind spots” – those places of compromise, ignorance, or sin where their pride and ego allowed them to disregard areas of sin altogether or minimize the guilt that allowed them to do their will rather than God’s.
Whenever we find ourselves debating or doubting the validity of what God’s word says, we have to realize that we are probably going astray.
So go to the Lord in prayer to ask Him to reveal the areas of your life that need correction and ask other brothers or sisters in Christ to help you make the changes that the Lord puts on your heart to make.
******************************************
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Support MT 4 Christ Community Freedom Ministry!
To Give via Pay Pal Go to the MT4Christ Donations Page
Or Give Via Venmo or the Cash App by scanning the QR Code below:
Leave a Reply