Remember Uzziah

[2 Chronicles 26:5 NKJV] 5 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

As long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. Hmmm, well, let’s think about that.

When one reads the Old Testament, it is striking how many times this notion of seeking the Lord occurs. Over and over again, we read how a leader starts out seeking God and then one thing or another lures them away or into pride or sin and then the opposite of favor and prosperity comes upon them.

Many of us struggle to come to terms with simply being in the Lord, simply resting in Him and accepting that we are His.  We want to do something great for the Lord, make a name for ourselves or create some lasting work that will declare our greatness for perpetuity. Yet, all the Lord asks us to do is to seek him, to desire him:

[2 Chronicles 15:2 NKJV] And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD [is] with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

[Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV] And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart.

Our job is not to do great things that exalt us or make a name for ourselves – we are simply to walk hand in hand with the Lord, and do the right thing in every situation that arises and we should give the Lord all the glory, all the honor and all the praise for whatever good does come from our lives because that too is a gift from him.

[Micah 6:7-8 NKJV] 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn [for] my transgression, The fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

After all, neither we nor our good works are important – what is important is that the Lord be glorified in all we do or say.  We must not let pride – in who we are or what we have done – come between us and the Lord. Uzziah let pride get the better of him and he went into the temple to offer incense upon the alter – a job God specifically gave to the priesthood – he presumed because of his favor and standing with God to do such a thing. It cost him dearly and before he could leave the temple he was stricken with leprosy and lived separated from the temple and presumably from the Lord for the rest of his days and was then buried separate from his fathers as a leper.  He reigned for 52 years and did many good things but in the end, his end was a tragedy all because of pride.

We need to persevere and continue in the Lord, In Christ if you will – right until the very end. It is interesting that Paul said

[1 Corinthians 9:24 NKJV] Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain [it].

and in Hebrews we read

[Hebrews 12:1 NKJV] Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Father, we thank you for your Word and for your Word that became flesh and dwelt among us – Jesus! We thank you Lord for the examples and the teaching of your ways through your Word. You make all things clear to us, and we see that all we are to strive for is to draw closer to you – to seek you with all of our heart. Please bless us with the courage and wisdom to do that. And, Father, you said in your Word that no one could separate us from your love or steal us from your hand – I claim that for each of us and ask you to please make that so in each of our lives as we walk this out. I pray in Jesus’ mighty name! Amen!