I Will Not
2 Chronicles 26:5, 16, 19, 21 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord.
When I was young I was never afraid to ask God for anything that would come to mind. If I didn’t get what I prayed for, I wouldn’t get frustrated I would just keep praying. When I got older things changed. Because I just knew that I was out in the world opening my own doors of opportunity and solving my problems with my hands; when God didn’t come through I got frustrated easily. I was not at all praying fervently, I was praying to say I did it. I then would just follow my own mind calling it guidance. Thank God for Jesus Christ and his grace because we all can be a King Uzziah. The hammer taking the carpenter’s glory.
No one whom came in contact with Jesus that was at the end of their rope thought the call of faith and obedience He asked for was to crazy. As long as we feel like we have options, Jesus will never be one of them. So as we pray for more options God removes them until He is our only foundation. Our success pushes God away and we shout never me Lord! Jesus always told the truth about the disciples hearts. They always denied that truth. Success always changes a person, even if they start out rooted in God just like Uzziah was. In Deuteronomy 8, God said that feeding them manna and making them wonder was to keep them humble. There is a Psalms prayer that ask to be neither rich or poor because he would forget The Lord. As soon as we think the fruit is working and we are like God, we forget Him but never me lord; right?
Most of our prayers are us asking God to protect, bless, or bring back our idols. These idols are the result of our earthly successes. These successes is what we really want as we use God to gain them. The motive always sound pure until the prize is seen. But once the goal is near we cast off everything to reach it faster. The first thing we always through away is God. It’s always God because the lie has not changed. The belief that God is holding something back from us and that our best interest is not his concern is still there. God being about his glory doesn’t set well with us; it didn’t in the garden and even after Jesus crucifixion God still holds no weight. We aren’t bad people just selfish and self-centered; never me lord! It’s everyone else lord, it’s the way the world works lord. Jesus says to trust our lives with him and to focus on loving God with all of us and loving everybody else as if it was ourselves. But we can’t because of sin, the sin of lust, pride and desire to be god. All of this equal faithlessness and disobedience. All because of fear of God not loving us enough to care for us. Even though God judged his only Son instead of just condemning all of mankind to a must deserved hell. God did not spare his son and we still question his love. We question God’s word, love, mercy, grace and law. So we approach with ignorance and arrogance just as Uzziah. But once pride dies we will see The Lord high and lifted up just like Isaiah. And no matter how well we think we have it together like Isaiah, we will see the difference between us and God becoming undone. We will come to the end of ourselves and burning coal to the mouth or clay and spit on our eyes will not be to much to ask of us. Our feeble powers, self-righteousness, and flawed perfection keeps our hearts hard and eyes closed.
Mark 14:28-31 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
All that Peter saw first hand was not enough to combat success, pride, arrogance, and a boastful heart. When we think success is because of our efforts we begin to command God, speaking words like they are God’s words. The world sees ambition and pride as good traits. In God’s view we boast in Jesus and we work for God’s glory not our own. The disciples boasted in their positions and successes, thus lost sight of Christ. But his grace is sufficient even in their weaknesses. We hate our weaknesses as we trade our souls to be strong and in charge. Uzziah probably never thought he would fall away from God. We never do when it comes to fools gold.
Related articles
Anointed Place Ministries 