Therefore, we must continually be alert to anything which might come between our soul and the Saviour. In my own life, there are several things that most commonly obstruct my view of the Lord Jesus and threaten to keep the light of His presence from shining in and through me. When He fills all our vision, the result is a humble heart that knows its own nothingness apart from Him. That is the heart God revives. But He is forced to resist the proud heart that causes us to live as if we were the center of our own world.
Pride manifests itself in so many subtle, but lethal ways.
These are all fruits of that deadly root of pride. A heart filled with itself will be unable to behold the loveliness of Jesus and will cease to reflect His light. Indulging our flesh, even in what others might consider insignificant ways, will quench the free flow of God's Spirit through us and erect barriers in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. From the initial moment of temptation, in spite of my internal rationalizing, I knew that what I wanted to do would defile my spirit and grieve the Holy Spirit who lives within me and whose possession I am. No one was there to see or to know.