BY: SUNNY ORLY COFFMAN - YEAR 1999

JOB 41:34 Tells us that Leviathan is "the king over all the children of pride." The entire chapter gives us a vivid description of this creature called Leviathan... in vs 33 we see that he has no wisdom because we’re told that he has no fear. Without the fear of the Lord, there can be no wisdom.

JOB 41:15 Says "His scales are his pride, [overlapping scales], shut up together as with a close seal." Living Bible says "so no air can get between them and nothing can penetrate."

PROVERBS 8:13 Says "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

PROVERBS 13:10 Says "only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." NIV "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Living Bible says "Pride leads to arguments; be humble, take advice and become wise."

PROVERBS 16:18 Says "Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall."

PROVERBS 29:22-23 "An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. A man’s pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." NIV "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor."

Today, as I was in the office going about my appointed duties for the day, the Lord reminded me about the mind being the real battlefield... that actions only follow the scenario already played out in the mind. I was doing a simple task of copying some teachings. I had done this kind of thing so much that it required little thought on my part... it had become pretty routine and the actions followed almost automatically.

The Lord showed me that it is in just such a situation that many grave mistakes are made. He also showed me that the root of it is PRIDE. When we are so sure of ourselves that we can take any action without being in an attitude of conscious direction-seeking from God, we open the door to the possibility of PRIDE coming in. God wants us to be ever before Him, ever seeking His input in whatever we may be doing.

I hear people say: "I don’t have to consult God about these small details of my life. God isn’t interested in which shirt I wear in the morning. I can make that decision myself. God has too many more important things to be concerned with. He doesn’t need me pestering Him about which way I’m going to drive to work this morning."

I can’t agree with this kind of thinking because some of the greatest blessings I’ve ever received came from submitting myself to Him for direction in just such small things. I’ve had him take me to an office that was listed in a Yellow Pages as a Copy Place, only so He could bless me with a dress for a special occasion. Turned out the address listed was, in fact, a resale shop. They had just gotten the dress on consignment an hour before I arrived and had not even put it out to be sold. But the words spoken through me were the igniter that sparked the lady’s memory concerning the dress still in the back room. Did I know that I was going to be blessed with the dress I had prayed for? Was I innocently led to the place of blessing? Could I have missed my blessing had I allowed my natural knowledge get in the way? What if I had looked at the circumstances, recognized the copy place I was looking for had surely changed locations, and simply backed up and pulled away? But I felt a prompting to go into the shop presently located at that address and inquire of the whereabouts of the Copy Place. My obedience gave God an opportunity to bless me greatly. He knows I love surprises and He sees to it that my heart is made happy often by His surprises. It’s situations like this that keep me on the path of knowing my steps are being ordered by the Lord.

As I was performing this simple task of copying a teaching to pass onto a friend this morning, God showed me just how easily I could have messed up and wasted time and materials had I not stayed focused on Him. It was a humbling revelation. I could have reflected on the past and wondered how many times I had, in fact, failed in some similar situation, but I recognized the past is over. This is a lesson for today and the future. I rejoiced in God having spoken to me and in the realization that He is concerned about every small detail of my life. It made me feel loved and very protected.

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