More often than not, the people who provoke God do so through pride. The most junior staff in an organisation would typically be humble and submissive. However, the day the person begins to feel overly important, he or she will start provoking some people. The moment you become proud, you begin to provoke God. Never forget that no matter how high you go, God is still the Most High.

God usually deals with proud people in two ways. The first way is by recalling such a person suddenly and in a disgraceful manner. In Acts 12:20-24, king Herod’s pride made him consent to being compared to the Most High. This made God order worms to eat him up alive. The Lord said, “Oh, you think you are big because you are the Commander-in-Chief of some armies? I have armies that don’t carry guns – ordinary worms”. One moment Herod was sitting on the throne, the next moment, he was being eaten by worms. However, the Lord could also decide to disgrace the fellow openly while preserving his or her life. That is what He did to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:28-37.

Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest king of his time. He built a city called Babylon, which had one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At a point, God saw that he was becoming proud and sent him a warning through a dream. Unfortunately, one year after the message came, he had forgotten it, so God said, “Okay, you think you are big? Go and eat with animals for seven years”. Nobody removed his royal robes from him; he removed them with his own hands. If there is something that must leave your life permanently today, it is pride.

Be careful as you rise, so as not to begin to feel like you are overly important. The elders say that when the cockroach falls, nobody hears the sound; when an ant falls, the ground doesn’t tremble, but if an elephant falls, the tremors would be felt both near and far. If God is elevating you, be weary of pride so that it doesn’t become a case of Him raising up an elephant so that when it falls everyone would pay attention, like in the case of Pharaoh (Romans 9:17).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.