If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their country.
2 Chronicles 7:14
S in has a cure, and it’s humility. Humility is the foundation of all righteousness. Without it you can’t get away from your sin and you can’t make Jesus the Lord of your life. Humility sounds weak, uncomfortable, and even dangerous, but humility is just acknowledging your complete dependence on God and making a deliberate decision to make life not about you but about him. When your life is centered on your wants and needs and you lose sight of who you live for, humility sneaks out the back door and danger sneaks in.
When the Israelites’ military and financial victories puffed them up, they lost their humility, and then all of a sudden they stopped worshiping the true God. But God made a way out for them. He didn’t write them off like you might think, but he kept his promise to David to bring success for generations to come. But even so, his hand of protection was off of David’s heirs while they lived their prideful and evil lives.
It’s easy to let pride and confidence in your own abilities color your vision of what you were meant to be or to do. All day long you live with thoughts about yourself, your feelings, your wants, your needs, and your experiences, and it’s easy to get all self-occupied. But you’ve gotta be careful. When things start to look bad and you notice that the waves are getting rough, then it’s time to stop all the navel-gazing and start looking up. You have to turn away from the sin of self-obsession and toward the strength of humility. When you walk humbly, without any regard for yourself or your wants but with an eye on your God and what he wants, your life will be blessed. You’ll find that your prayers are more effective, forgiveness is yours, and your life is healed.