ECIPLESHIP for Passionate Christ-Followers

This morning I read about Uzziah, King of Judah. It says in 2Chronicles 26:5 that “Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.” And much success he had, by the way. He was king for 52 years — most of that consisted of honoring God and leading well.

Things changed toward the end of his life, however. In verse 16 we read, “But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.” His sin subjected Him to God’s discipline. He was stricken with leprosy right on the spot and lived outside of the city for the rest of his life.

Here are a few random thoughts related to Uzziah:

• A godly priest was a critical part of his holy living. We will never succeed without godly people pouring themselves into us.
• Fearing God was central to his holiness. God was not overly friendly to Uzziah. He was, however, powerful, strong, righteous, and just. Tremendous respect for the nature of God enabled Uzziah to live rightly for most of his life
• Uzziah was successful as long as he “sought guidance” from the Lord. He was dependent, therefore, humble in this sobering task of leading a nation.
• Success and power planted the seeds of pride and independence leading to his downfall. Evidently, Uzziah forgot how dependent he needed to be upon God. He presumed that he was invincible to failure, even in his relations with a holy God.
• No matter how much good you have done, sin is still sin. God will deal with it.
• Uzziah failed to finish well due to the pride that infiltrated his soul. He forgot to seek the Lord, humble himself daily, and depend on God’s wisdom rather than his own.

So – fear God, humbly seek His guidance today, and persevere in God’s ways to the very end.