Trust the Plan: 4. Everything proud will be humbled.

I am going to say that the root of all sin is pride and lust and selfishness or greed. God is going to deal with them all. But I need for you to hear the heart of our Father. When we are humbled, we will at last be in a position to bring God glory and for God to glorify us.

"Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. ONLY THE LORD WILL BE EXALTED ON THAT DAY OF JUDGMENT. For the LORD of Heaven's Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted. He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the mighty oaks of Bashan. He will level all the high mountains and all the lofty hills. He will break down every high tower and every fortified wall. He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel. Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment.

Idols will completely disappear. When the LORD rises to shake the earth, His enemies will crawl into holes in the ground. They will hide in caves in the rocks for the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty. On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats, while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty as He rises to shake the earth. Don't put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?" (Isaiah 2:11-22)

America is a proud nation. Her people are a proud people. This passage is meant for us all. In the coming days the things that we did before will not work. The wisdom of the wise will disappear and the strength of the strong will be gone. Human plans will not prosper. We all will be humbled. If you have experienced this already - you realize that you are not that wise or strong or important, that you cannot do this by yourself - you are ahead of the curve. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus. If you have not experienced this humbling, you will. Give it to God. Lay it down. Repent. Give thanks. Trust God!!! God is doing a new thing, and it is wonderful. He is preparing us for something new. This message is for the church!

The LORD says, "Beautiful Zion" (that's us) is haughty, craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets. So the LORD will send scabs on her head; the LORD will make beautiful Zion bald."

On that day of judgment the LORD will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and veils; scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms; rings, jewels, party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses; mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty. The men of the city will be killed with the sword, and her warriors will die in battle. The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground. (Isaiah 3:16-26)

The church is proud and haughty. God is about to take our beauty and our fine things away. But for the remnant, it will be different.

"But in that day, the branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel. All who remain in Zion will be a holy people - those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living. The LORD will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment. Then the LORD will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter from the daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain." (Isaiah 4:2-6)

This judgment that is about to happen will cleanse us from our filth and our bloodstains. We will be beautiful. Our fruit will be large - love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control. Then God Himself will protect us. We will live under His shelter. We will live Psalm 91. But this will not happen as long as we continue to think we can save ourselves. It is not possible. God and God alone will be exalted in the coming days. No man will.

Blessings my friends. May you humble yourself under God's mighty hand so that at the proper time, He will lift you up.
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Terri