It was hot. A line of demarcation separating the barren wasteland on my left from the barren wasteland on my right, I-15 stretched toward the horizon. I’ve heard stories of people going crazy after being lost in the desert. They’re found foaming at the mouth, gesticulating wildly and talking nonsense. I have wondered at what point such insanity manifests itself. For me it was about twenty minutes in.
After ten brutal hours, I arrived in Lancaster, California. I was attending the Spiritual Leadership Conference at Lancaster Baptist Church. I have attended the smaller regional conferences, but this was my first visit to Lancaster.
The preaching and teaching were tremendous! Though I am still reviewing and processing my notes, I want to share with you something that was said early on that, for me, set the tone for the rest of the week. On Sunday morning Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. preached a sermon titled “The Sin of Pride.” During the message he referenced the words of James, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (4:6).
There have been times that my progress on some front has come to a standstill. I almost always lay the blame on Satan and his minions. However, sometimes the devil is not the problem—sometimes it’s my pride. When I am prideful, God comes against me. Yet to the humble, to those not looking to build their own kingdom or magnify their own name but rather God’s, He pours out grace. He works through such individuals and not against them. I desperately want to be one He works through here in Utah.
