“Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him.” (Nahum 1:6, NASB)
The questions in this verse assume an obvious answer. No one can stand. No one can endure. Every person finds themselves to be a helpless sinner before the holy indignation of God. For the lost, the implication of this verse is simple and obvious. God's judgment is coming. Cry out to Him while there is still time.
For the Christian, the implication is equally simple. There is no room for pride. Noah was no more capable of withstanding the flood himself as we are of withstanding the wrath of God ourselves. He was delivered because God provided a boat. We are delivered because God provided a Lamb.
The tendency of our corrupt nature is to place ourselves above everyone else in our own minds. This is why we see others’ sins more clearly than our own. But a verse like this levels the field. We all came from the same desperate condition and our salvation was in spite of us, not in light of us.
Pride, for all its arrogance, is a coward. It likes to hide behind anything and everything. That is why the latter half of the verse is important. God's wrath is an outpouring of fire, burning up everything in its path. It breaks up the rocks, removing every hiding place.
All of our pretenses, excuses, finger-pointing, justifications, and false motives are removed. Under the judging hand of God, our sinful hearts are laid bare. This realization should cause us to walk in humility and thankfulness for the cross. There is no room for pride.