5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Genesis 40:1-41:36
Matthew 12:43-13:17

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Genesis 41:15-16 (CSB): “Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.’ ‘I am not able to,’ Joseph answered Pharaoh. ‘It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

There is nothing quite so nauseating and oxymoronic as a proud Christian. And yet they are everywhere!

Notice that I used the word “they” in the previous sentence. It’s so easy to see spiritual pride in others. But it’s quite another to acknowledge that we, too, struggle with pride. All of us battle with pride to one extent or another.

In the verses I have chosen for today, Pharoah, the most powerful man in the world, stood in anticipatory admiration of the prisoner who stood in front of him. He heard Joseph had previously interpreted dreams, and his interpretations were spot on, so Pharoah looked to him to interpret his own dream.

Genesis 41:15 (CSB): “Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.'”

Imagine being Joseph in this moment. You know the Lord has previously given you multiple opportunities to interpret dreams, and your words have proven true each time. And now you have the opportunity to interpret Pharoah’s dream. You have the audience of the most powerful man in the world, and you are about to do something that will garner even more of his admiration. You went from a prison cell to gaining Pharoah’s intrigue and admiration in the blink of an eye.

Talk about an opportunity for spiritual pride! Pharoah knows nothing about your God. He thinks you (YOU!) have the ability to interpret his dream. You could easily play along, interpret his dream, and take all the credit for yourself.

But that’s not what Joseph did. God had broken him.

As a young boy in his father’s home, he had been saturated with pride. He bragged about what his dreams meant for him and his brothers. He looked down on his siblings and seemed to have found delight in telling his father about their faults. And, besides, he appeared to be his father’s favorite. All of this worked to cultivate a nauseating pride in his heart.

But as Joseph stood before Pharoah, he was a different man. Most of his sinful pride had been killed. God has multiple ways of breaking a proud human heart. For Joseph, it meant being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused by his master’s wife, unjustly thrown into prison, and forgotten in his cell for two long years by a man he helped.

A wonderful Christian writer of the last century once wrote: “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” That is true. Before God can trust a man or woman with an added measure of His grace for service, He must be sure to break the person’s heart of any pride that would seek to claim the credit for what God does through Him.

That work had been done in Joseph’s heart. He wasn’t filled with pride anymore. He was confident in his God, but he humbly and readily acknowledged that he could do nothing apart from God.

Genesis 41:15-16 (CSB): “Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.’ ‘I am not able to,’ Joseph answered Pharaoh. ‘It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'”

Do you know in your heart of hearts that you can do absolutely nothing if it wasn’t for the Lord? Are you quick to give God the glory when someone commends you for something you did?

Maybe God is not using us in greater ways because He cannot trust us to humbly give Him glory when He does. So, if you are willing, ask God to work on humbling you so that you are just as quick to acknowledge Him as Joseph was before Pharoah.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to reveal any evidence of pride in your mind and heart?
  • Ask God to help you see pride as the ugly, ultimate anti-God sin that it is?
  • Confess and repent of it (turn from it) while depending upon God’s grace to help you defeat it in your life?

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into pride and humility, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What does the Bible say about pride?”

“What does the Bible say about how to humble yourself?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)