God Opposes the Proud | Anchored in Hope Devotions

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” - 1 Peter 5:5b

Those are some powerful words!

At first glance you might think, “Well of course God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

But it’s not until you realize the pride in your own heart, where the truth found in this passage hits deep.

The first half of that first says “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

I, as a younger person, felt convicted by the first half of that verse. I thought to myself: “Do I show respect and obedience to those in authority over me?” “Do I live my life seeking the greater good of others, or am I just looking for a compliment?” “Is my heart dedicated to fulfilling the two overarching commands in the Bible: love God and love others as myself?”

The convicting power of the Holy Spirit was already taking place in me, but when I saw those words, “God opposes the proud,” the conviction hit even deeper. A reality check hit me that my hard heart needed to feel. My heart, my desires, my actions, were often filled with the very thing God opposes.

Proverbs 29:23 says “One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”

It is very easy to fall into the “well I just need to be better” trap. Satan loves to watch us fight the sin of pride in our own strength. Yet, the solution for a believer is right within our grasp, not because we have some special ability, but because “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Paul stated in Romans 6 that “10 the death he [Jesus] died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. . . . 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:10-11,14).

Pride is the root of our sin, and while pride will always be a struggle while on earth due to our sinful flesh, we absolutely have the power to resist it because when Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross, He crushed the power of sin, allowing anyone who puts their faith in Him, to live a grace energized life!

Next week we will look at the power of humility!

- Ramiro D. Franco