There is nothing more empowering than the grace of God. Through Jesus, we have unlimited access to this grace, but only when we have hearts that fully accept that without God we can accomplish nothing to its fullest capacity.
Success can be a great blessing from God once achieved with the right attitude and character, but when it comes with a mix of pride and arrogance, it can become destructive. That's why God instructed Joshua to stay rooted in His Word before giving him success in battle (Joshua 1:8).
One example that we see in God's Word of arrogance blocking the grace of God is the story of King Uzziah. The king of Judah had gained a lot of wealth, power and success because God had been good to him while he was king. 1 Chronicles 26:7 says, "God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites."
With these victories, Uzziah became popular and wealthy. But the king forgot that all He had achieved was only through the grace and power of God. He became proud. Verse 16 says, "But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense."
Because of his arrogance, Uzziah suddenly thought that he was above everything, even the laws of God stating that only assigned priests could burn incense in God's house. The king thought that he was the complete package. What followed him was great punishment -- an instant breakout of leprosy on his skin, leaving him to become an exiled leper for the remaining days of his life.
When we live a life of arrogance, we block the blessings of God. It's not that God acts in hate and throws a tantrum, bringing curses upon us. It's that when we tell God that we don't need Him, He respects our decision out of love and leaves our presence, brining along with Him the blessing, prosperity and protection that comes with His presence.
That's why Moses opted not to go to the promised land without God's presence. Without God's presence, we will never find the joy, peace and abundance that we seek. But God promises that with His presence come fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). In His presence we are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:8). In His presence, everything we need and want is added unto us (Matthew 6:33).
Pride is a sign that we have taken the job of "being God" and when we do that, we can never do a better job than Jesus. We live our lives best when we leave Jesus in charge, and when we do that, we live a life of humility.
