Moments of clarity and grace

On Monday, I wrote in my journal:

Is pride the opposite extreme of shame? And is humility the balance?

Today, Wednesday, I read this in my Bible in One Year reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app:

“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/bible/114/pro.11.2.nkjv

So, I guess the answer is yes.

Thank You, God, for answering so clearly. May I always trust You to provide answers and assurance when I need them. 

As I've chronicled on my blog, April has been a strangely difficult month, filled with self-doubt and negativity that I knew and kept telling myself was baseless but still could not shake off. All I could do was continue to read the Bible and pray for understanding and an open heart and willingness to know and do what God wants me to know and do, and to trust Him. Noticeable changes occurred yesterday. And when I read the Proverbs passage I had an unmistakable sense of God’s presence and power.

That was followed by a passage from John 1, with the Holy Spirit continuing to teach and guide me. I stand in awe of His presence.

I'm grateful that, for today, my mind and heart seem more open to understand these passages. (Maybe I needed to go through what I went through to get here.) The reading plan has helped.

I had not been claiming everything Jesus has made possible for me. I was feeling guilty and powerless. I had not taken possession of the forgiveness, new life and power of the Holy Spirit available to me.

Today I reclaim it. Thank You, Lord! Thank You for willingly becoming the Lamb of God to remove my sins and to allow me to walk in the freedom of God’s promises. Thank You for freeing me to again claim, trust and believe in the forgiveness bought for me, and to actively reject feelings of guilt, shame or unworthiness.

These words helped me see what God is saying to me in these passages: It is a proactive, practical, daily choice to claim the forgiveness Jesus has made possible for me. This affirms in Scripture something I finally grasped in counseling this week. I am grateful for the renewed sense of hope and purpose.