There are two passages assigned for today!

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 14
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [Isaiah 14:12-13]
Isaiah described earlier how God would use the king of Babylon to punish Israel; now he describes how God will humble the proud and mighty king.
How many leaders have followed this same path, acting as if they were God… but they all come crashing down.
God may allow leaders and nations to rise to ascendancy for a season, but He does eventually humble them.
He humbles everyone – this is why repentance is the key to receiving His mercy and help.

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” [Luke 10:17-20]
Here we see the great reversal happening – Satan and his demons are defeated by humble Jesus-followers.
By the power of the Spirit, they order demons to submit, and they do; Jesus explains that this is the downfall of the “morning star, son of the dawn”.
Jesus chooses the weak, the small, the humble and exalts them, while those who are proud, arrogant and full of themselves are brought low.
And notice that Jesus stresses humility by urging the disciples not to boast about their power, but to rejoice that God has graciously included them in His kingdom.
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. [Proverbs 16:18-19]

Today’s reading is a reminder that we need to keep our spirit and attitude humble.
God is the great one, not us; God gets the credit and the glory, not us.
God has been so good to us, while we have been selfish and greedy and opinionated.
God is not opposed to healthy self-esteem, but the problem is that our self-esteem is usually not healthy.
We minimize or justify our own flaws, while maximizing and criticizing the flaws of others.
We blame God for things that we are responsible for; we spend most of our time taking care of ourselves first.
We make choices as if we were God, we act as if we were our own bosses, as laws unto ourselves.
This is the spirit of Satan, the spirit that pervades the hearts of all “high and mighty” leaders, the spirit that leads to their eventual fall from glory.

I may not be as proud as others (hmm, that’s a prideful thought), but the spirit of selfish pride is in me.
And this is where I need to repent, to be reminded of my humble condition.
Take some time today to reflect on why you should be humble.

PRAYER:
Lord, the reasons why I should be humble – the flaws, the weaknesses, the attitudes in me – are obvious. I don’t like to think about them, but I need to. Thank you for reminding me that I am not all that!