Betty: I just heard a part of you say, “Oh my goodness. I thought God would do the work.” In other words, it’s like this part is resenting that you have to do the work. That’s part of arrogance. “Lord, bring your people into repentance and into a humble, contrite heart, so you can come to their aid.” 

See, when the Lord said he has difficulty paying homage to false gods, we need to listen to that. Because in time of great need, the less arrogant we are, the more God can come to our aid. This is kind of what you call defense. People hide behind that kind of an arrogant front. That approach doesn’t help them. It turns people away from them. It’s not helpful at all. But I guess it makes the person feel stronger like, “You’re not gonna get to me. I put this defense up. You’re the one who has the problem.” 

It kind of makes you feel better for the moment. Well, I’m glad that God wants to work with you on this. Because I think we all need to do this kind of work to get in a stronger place.

Is there any area in your life where you need to move into the humble, contrite heart?