Satan's pride was his downfall, and it is ours. God hates sin and God hates pride the root of all sins.
In Genesis we read what Satan says to Eve:
Genesis 3:1 He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?
Satan casted doubt upon Eve and then in verse 4 & 5 he adds the pride piece.
Genesis 3:4-5:You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Then in Isaiah we have Satan's five "I will" statements.
Isaiah14:13-14 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
Pretty boastful, eh? But don't we do the same thing? When we finally made a decision to accept Christ as our Savior, didn't we humble ourselves and say "Lord, I can't save myself, I need you Lord, take residence inside me Lord, I am nothing without You Lord."
But so often after we have been saved by His grace, we tend to say, "Ok God, thanks for saving me, I can take it from here." We are stating the "I wills."
When God creates something, what does He start with? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We must become nothing, so He can use us, and we must continue in Him, abiding in His Word, and His truth. I am nothing apart from God. I have nothing to offer God. All that I have, all that I do, is from Him.
In contrast to Satan's 5 "I wills" we have Jesus' 5 "I ams." I don't know about you folks.. but I am betting my life on Jesus' "I ams."
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
John 14:6 Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. And finally Paul's sums it all up in 2 Corithians, saying he is nothing. When we come to that realization that we are nothing apart from Christ, there is no room for pride in our lives.
2 Co 12:11 I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing"
Father, humble us. Bring us back to nothing, so You can create in us all that You want us to be. Help us to resist the "I wills" in our lives, and keep remembering the only "I am." Father we ask you to forgive us for our prideful ways, as we repent from them. Humble us Lord, in Jesus' name, Amen.
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