Spiritual Growth and Development Day 1
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times. Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles… (Proverbs 24:16)
Have you witnessed the results of God fighting your battle and your enemy being defeated? It could be a person on your job, a former friend, or a family member who has been a thorn in your flesh. We naturally tend to rejoice when we see our enemies fall, but in Proverbs, King Solomon [who was the wisest man who lived] says that we should not rejoice when our enemies fall.
But wait a minute! When God delivers us from that situation that we were powerless in, aren’t we supposed to praise him for deliverance? Yes, we should always thank God for His Divine intervention by praising Him for victory. Yet, many times our focus is displaced on the enemy instead of God.
Have you ever thought or said, “They got exactly what they deserved?” Solomon admonishes us not to gloat, which is to take great pleasure and boast about the fall of our enemy. We can quickly speak prideful words against the individual. But, reflecting on our lives, we also have a history of sinful thoughts, comments, wrongful actions against others, and willful acts of disobedience against God.
“Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, because his compassion fail not.” (Lamentations 3:22).
Through our prayers of confession and repentance, God extends His never-ending grace and mercies to us. We fall, but we confess our transgressions with humility, and God lovingly extends His righteous hands and picks us up.
Prayer: God, we repent for the times that we have sinned by taking pleasure in seeing our enemies fall. We ask you to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, anoint us with the Holy Spirit, and open our spiritual eyes. Thank you for your love, grace, and mercies. We ask this prayer in the Worthy name of Jesus. Amen.
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 