Sometimes the Christian life can seem like an uphill grind, like the world is out to get you. Wasn’t life supposed to get easier once you became a Christian? Sometimes, if you stopped long enough to really think about things, it might even seem like God Himself is putting up roadblocks at every turn, trying to make life as difficult as possible for you. Is that even possible? How could that be?

We see clues sprinkled throughout the New Testament to a deep truth about God that too many Christians neglect today. Jesus starts his most famous sermon (the Sermon on the Mount) this way: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Blessed are the spiritually destitute. Blessed are those who are spiritually bankrupt. Blessed are those who have come to an end of themselves. Blessed are the broken. Blessed are the humble.

James makes it even more explicit: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). And there it is in black and white. The reason it may seem like God is putting up roadblocks for you at every turn just might be because God is putting up roadblocks for you at every turn. God hates pride. Pride is the sin that cast the angel Lucifer out of heaven (we know him today as the devil). God doesn’t tolerate pride or wink at the sin of arrogance. God actively opposes the proud. God is jealous for His Name and for His glory, and when we attempt in any way to take His glory for our own, we gain God as an opponent. And if you ever wonder who would win that battle: God does. Every time.

The one virtue that most Christians don’t realize they can’t live without is humility. When we cultivate humility in our own lives, God shows us grace and favor. But when you allow pride to twist and corrupt you, you’ve gained God as an opponent, and that will never ever work out well for you.