But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 32:25-26 ESV
Hezekiah once again humbled himself and spared his city from destruction. The Lord had given him very great possessions and he struggled each day to retain his humility (2 Chr. 32:27). Not long after this, the Babylonians visited him and his pride returned again as he showed them all of his treasures and storehouses. Later, they returned to loot it all for themselves. Pride goes before destruction (Prov. 16:18).
Many times in my life, the Lord has given me opportunities to humble myself. He would give me jobs that no one else wanted, allow others wrong me, or simply withhold the appreciation I thought I so deserved. At other times, I have dealt with a sin or bad attitude, only to have it show up again later. Just like Hezekiah, when things start going well, it is easy to drift back.
Sin crouches at the door but you must rule over it (Gen 4:7). Sins like pride are especially hard to keep behind you, but really it is just whatever sin that you are weak to that is the difficult one. You may know better, but you just cannot seem to help it. For some it is greed or the love of money. For others, it is lust. The enemy will try to use anything that breaks your fellowship with the Lord. I was raised as white trash so when the Lord raises me up, my head tries to swell like a watermelon. As long as I stay focused on Him, all is well.
You can never finally say I have dealt with ____ for the last time because it will try and return when you least expect it. Stay on guard against anything that you have been weak to. What you feed will grow; what you starve will die. Dont open that door again. You know who is there.
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