Psalm 34:2 (CSBBible)
I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad.
It may seem strange to think of boasting as good, the word boast means “to puff oneself up in speech,” and the act of glorying or vainglorious speaking and ostentatious display of anything outside of God.
True boasting in the Lord is boasting of the Lord—to deliberately and intentionally set us to praise the Lord and boast of His great attributes, boasting of what He has done, of what He is still doing and of what He has promised to do. As Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, let him who boasts, boast that he understands and knows me, nothing but an experimental knowledge and understanding of God will save you and keep you contented enough to appreciate that everything we are and have comes from the Lord, this, in turn, will stop us from becoming self-confident in our abilities and intelligence. To fully know the Lord, you must have an intimate relationship with Him, to have a deep and revelation knowledge of who God is.
There is an element of pride in boasting in oneself, that will make you the controller of your life and destiny but according to Jeremiah 10:23, we do not have it takes to run our own lives, but we still try daily, we can’t control our own life or someone else’s. God is in control, so make boasting God’s ability and sovereignty a priority.
The bible, especially the book of Proverbs condemns pride and vanity. Proverbs 27:2, 16:5, and 8:13. Walking along pride lane and vanity fair is a sticky sloop that will keep us from enjoying the best of God for our lives, as it says in James 4:6 that God resists the proud but the humble, that is, those who look up to Him, trust in and boasts in Him, He showers with favour.
Boastful pride is the braggadocious attitude or state of being proud, inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one’s superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. Daniel 4:37 recounts Nebuchadnezzar’s repentant boast in honour of the King of heaven, recognising that pride was useless.
Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 11:30 that his boast was in the faithfulness of the Lord in his life, he states that his boast was also in his weakness and helplessness, which made plain what Christ had done through him. We mustn’t boast of our natural or acquired powers, abilities, knowledge, and skills, neither boast in what God has done by us, but rather, our boast should always be in what we have suffered for God, what He has and will do for us and in the finished work of the cross.
When God has touched you in a way, made a difference in your life and changed your outlook, you learn to lean on Him and make your boast in Him and Him alone because all the glory belongs to the Lord, and He will not share it with anyone else, including you according to Isaiah 48:2.
Shalom