The Word of God will achieve it's purpose

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) says,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty, 

but will accomplish what I desire 

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Every New Year's eve our church has a tradition of having a year end service celebrating God's grace that kept everyone throughout the year.  The service started in the late evening and continued through mid-night, greeting the New Year - 2011 - praising and worshiping God. As always, the church was packed and traditionally on New Year's eve everyone gives their testimony of God's grace in their life through the year. This year it wasn't so.

My younger brother was the first one to testify; it surprised me (pleasantly) that he stood up the first to testify. He spoke of how fragile life was. He is physically a very strong young man, but this past year he suffered from a herniated disc that practically immobilized him for several weeks. Though he is doing a lot better, it has not been the same. He spoke of how what we take pride in is so fleeting, there one minute and gone the next.

As he was testifying, the Holy Spirit prompted my heart to testify and exhort the church about human pride and how God hates it. In the book of Jeremiah, prophet Jeremiah talks about it and how God rots away human pride. I waited, and my sister got up and testified. I waited, unsure, as others were getting up,  if I should get up and say an exhortation that may be perceived the wrong way. As I debated on whether to get up next, next, next, next, time ran out. It was time for the pastor to give his sermon. Testimonies were to continue the following evening, on Saturday, January 1st, 2011, during the evening meeting, but I didn't go to church that evening.

Next day, Sunday morning, we went to the worship service and there was a visiting pastor. His message that morning was about Human Pride and how God hates it. Pride comes in many forms, including false humility. It also can be spiritual pride,

• should I think in my heart that I can pray better than my brother, that's pride speaking.
• should I think I understand the word of God better than my brother, that's pride speaking.
• should I think I can preach better than my brother, that's pride speaking
• should I think that I have more of the Holy Spirit in me than my brother that's my pride speaking. 
• should I think that I have the gift of speaking in tongues more than my brother, that's my pride speaking.
• should I think that I am more humble than my brother, that's pride speaking. 
• should I consider myself better than my brother in whatever shape or form, that's my pride speaking.

Pride is not from God.

As the sermon was going on, I remembered the verse from the book of Isaiah that God's Word cannot be stopped from achieving its goal...

I didn't stand to deliver God's message, and God brought another into the church, an outsider, to deliver God's word to the church.

Year 2011 was proclaimed the "Year of harvest" by our pastor. If we are to have a good harvest for Christ, one needs to be without pride and false humility!