To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (2Co 12:7 NIV)

The Lord God turned the apostle St. Paul into a light, shining far into the nations. The brighter the light however, the darker and deeper the shadows too. The great heavenly gifts might have brought about the danger of conceit for the holy apostle too. The Lord saw this even before it became apparent amongst people and he cares more for his own than any loving human heart ever could. That is why he offset the surpassingly great revelations of grace and mercy with hellish torment and daemonic counterbalance. Prayer would not dissipate that. The Lord answered the apostolic prayers in the negative, even if in the same breath he confirmed his ongoing gracious support by which he was sustaining his missionary throughout. His apostle had to bear his cross, endure the thorn in the flesh and even the molesting satanic envoys – whilst simultaneously being ensured of divine grace and goodwill.

Dear brothers! Conceit, pride, arrogance, vanity and self-satisfaction stay with us until the very end. However some are ruled by it, while others are merely tested and tempted by this dire sin. It’s a sign of ignorance and self-deception if we think this only bothers others, perhaps judging: “Oh he is still so proud and haughty!” Our Lord might answer: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Mat 7:3 NIV) and I would say from own experience: “Who is not troubled by arrogance and vanity?”

Self-satisfied temptations and prideful afflictions threaten to destroy our good work and change our personality into a distorted image and travesty of what we should and would be like by God’s grace and calling. Our Lord counter-acts this sinful demise and degradation with gracious humiliations and thereby nurtures humbleness in us and cultivates us to be ever more unassuming and modest. God forbid that we fight and struggle in word, thoughts and deeds – even most pious prayers! – against this divine humiliation, degradation and mortification of our arrogant, conceited and haughty old Adam! Let us rather appreciate this divine tutoring and edification for what it is and thank our gracious God that he is thus contravening sin and forming and shaping the new creation in us to perfection and fulfilment in his outstanding consummation by keeping us from greater evil and eternal destruction here and eternally.

Christ’s way is down, while you in conceited pride still desire to storm heavenly pinnacles? Discontent and striving continuously upward? Your Saviour descended! Whoever wants to ascend with him on high, will have to descend down below first.

Therefore o my mind and will, be readily inclined downward to the lowly.  Unlearn to strive and climb upward. It’s easy to pick up, improve and reach up high; much more challenging it remains to bend down, lower oneself and stoop low. The fountain sunk deep, multiplies its resources and spreads into a massive flood. Therefore o my mind and will be readily inclined downward to the lowly.

Therefore o my eyes be cast downward and look below! God himself looks down from on high on his mighty throne to those humble, meek and lowly. Haughty superiority goes against his grain and he brings down the mighty in their conceit. The higher an eye gazes, the closer its already to the grave of fatal darkness. Therefore o my eyes be cast downward and look below!

Downward o my heart, go down all the way! God will dwell in you below, humility he prices with heavenly reward and golden crowns of light. In the humbleness below his saints are gifted with great spiritual gifts and blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Therefore downward o my heart, down all the way!  (Andreas Ingolstätter, 1633 – 1711. The translation is rather literal and neither poetic nor hymnal)

Translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Saturday after Sunday Sexagesimae (2^nd Sunday before Lent) as found on Pg. 109 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu!   (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and puplished in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.