In spiritual warfare one should never have faith in oneself. [THREAD]

It is required in our warfare that we not rely on ourselves. Without this, truly you will not only fail to obtain the sought after victory, but you will be incapable of resisting the slightest assault of your foe. Etch this deep in your mind and heart.

How is grace, which aids and enlightens, able to enter that person, who supposes that he is great, that he understands all things and requires no help beyond himself? "Woe to those that are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight" (Isa 5:21) declares the prophet.

Any goodness we might have in us has its source in Him alone, for He is the root of all goodness, and nothing genuinely good can ever be from ourselves, whether that be a virtuous thought or a good deed.

God is careful to plant this divine seed in the hearts of His most beloved friends, encouraging them not to highly esteem themselves and not to depend on themselves. He does so in various ways.

These are four exercises by which, with the assistance of God, you may obtain a distrust of yourself, and learn not to depend on yourself for anything.

God leads haughty to understanding of their weakness by their failures. This method, though powerful, is not without risks and God uses it only when other methods fail to lead one to self-awareness.

Same is also when one is disturbed by some misfortune, affliction or grief, and in particular a worrisome and drawn out bodily illness, he must perceive that he endures this so as to obtain self-awareness, that is, the understanding of his weakness, and to be humble.

With this goal God permits us to be afflicted by all types of temptations from the devil, men and our depraved nature. St. Paul perceived this when he stated, "But we had the death sentence in ourselves, that we should not rely on ourselves, but in God who raises from the dead."

If one wants to understand his infirmity from the experience of his life, he should just for a single day, note what he thought, said and did. He will no doubt discover that the majority of his thoughts, speech and acts were sinful, wrong, silly and evil.

This test will make him know in reality how discordant and feeble he is. And should he desire earnestly to better himself, this knowledge will make him feel how fool-hearty it is to believe anything virtuous will come from himself, and not to trust in himself.