Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I had a rich meeting with the Living God this morning, and He spent some time Refining my Heart. The One who Created me is Kind and Gentle, but when He is doing business on the Heart, He doesn’t pull any punches. He shone a Heavenly highlighter over a few of my weak spots, and He reminded me of His Strength. Part of my Lesson this morning made me weep with shame, and some of the Message made me overflow with joy – but none of the Message would have been possible, nor would it have any impact on my Life whatsoever, had I refused to be willing to be Molded by my Maker again this morning. When it comes to things like Heart and Character, there’s no such thing as being “complete”…at least not on this side of Heaven. There’s always room for improvement, and I’m driven to be all that I can be for Him. Isn’t that the way you look at your Lessons, too?

There are lots of reasons why most people don’t continue to Grow in their Faith for as long as they live, but I think the biggest reason is pride. It’s often said, “pride cometh before the fall,” but that’s a spin-off from Words in Proverbs that drives the message home a little deeper… “pride goes before destruction, a haughty (arrogant) spirit before a fall”. Pride is what prevents us from being willing to be transparent, and pride is what keeps us from sharing our Trials and Victories. Pride is where we convince ourselves that we’re something we’re not and that we’re bigger and better than we really are. Pride is what makes us run from the Spirit of God when it’s Lesson Time, and pride is what stands in the way of revealing our weaknesses. Pride is what prompts us to judge someone else, and pride is what makes us lie to ourselves about who and what we really are. Pride drives greed, and pride drives lies. It’s pride that will stop us from helping the helpless, and it’s pride that leads us to lose our identity in wealth. A prideful heart refuses to admit when it’s wrong, and pride stands in the way of forgiveness of another. There’s no end to the destruction that pride brings with it, and eventually, pride will build a shell around the heart that it is so hard that we’re no longer Recognizable as God’s People and we’re useless to the King. There’s no room for pride if we want to grow. Unless we get a handle on pride, we can’t find humility.

I’ve been slapped around by people of Faith more often than I can count when they hear me confess my weaknesses or when I share my trials or temptations. Their pride drives them into believing that if you are a person of Faith, all those things are “in the past” and they shouldn’t be shared with the world. But I have no pride when it comes to being a Vessel for the Living God, and I know that the more I share about my own Life, the more inclined God will be to use me to help someone else. My Life isn’t just a big ball of mess…even though it’s felt that way sometimes…my Life is a Powerful, Living, Breathing Testimony, and I’m not too proud to share it. Every single piece has Grown me, and every pain has made me Stronger. But most of all, I know that ” in all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to HIS purpose” …so ALL of it has been used for Good in my life too. My Life has Purpose, and I’m humbled to be used by the King. So, whenever pride tries to sneak in…the kind of pride that would have me withhold what God has done in my life and the kind of pride that would lead me to take credit for things in my life that I have no business owning at all…it’s time for a Lesson on Humility straight from the Throne of the Living God.

I may not like it much when it’s Lesson Time, but I’m Ready and Willing to be Molded by my Maker so that I can be ALL that He intends for me to be for as long as there is breath in my body.

How about you?